Take on Mineral Town
by Eve Pomme
Summary: Taciturn- quiet;reserved in manner and speech. That's Eve in a nutshell. But, there's something different about her... Gray knows about it, and Cliff wants to find out... But what happens once he does? -CHPTR 40 UP- COMPLETE! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!
1. The First Night

Chapter 1: The First Night

**Chapter 1: The First Night**

Eve shivered slightly. It was a cold night, even though it was Spring. Her parents had bought tickets for the boat ages ago, but sent her to Mineral Town once she finished college.

_"Please Eve, consider it…" _her mom begged her. Sure, she lived in Flower Bud Village, a farming town, all her life. But, she had never actually worked on a _farm_.

Her parents and friends always said she had a green thumb, but Eve didn't think of her gardens becoming her career.

Zack, whom she had just met, came over to her. "Alrighty, we should be in Mineral Town in about an hour. So, get ready." With that being said, he walked away.

Eve sighed. She was excited to own a farm, yes; with all the fruits, vegetables, and animals. But, she was truly afraid of the people. She was… taciturn.

Taciturn means quiet; reserved in speech and manner. Overall, Eve was shy. After she knew you, she would come out of her shell; but until then, almost nothing.

As her eyes felt heavy with sleep, she took out her contacts. Yes, yes, I know it's strange for a farmer to wear contacts. But, wearing glasses would be difficult to wear to work out in the fields, and going half-blind wasn't an option.

Eve let her eyes close, and sleep fell upon her.

* * *

Someone was shaking her when she woke up. It was Zack. "Wake up. We're in Mineral Town! I put your things in your house already. You should head there."

Eve nodded, half-awake, and walked off the boat onto the dock murmuring a thank you to Zack. As she walked, she thought about her parents. She thought about the fact they were probably curled up in front of the T.V. and falling asleep to the news, or to some sort of show…

Once her thoughts died down, Eve stopped and stood still. Her eyes popped open as she realized one of the worst things she could have possibly imagined happened to her in Mineral Town, on her first day, in the middle of the night.

She was lost.


	2. A Helpful Stranger

Chapter 2: A Helpful Stranger

**Chapter 2: A Helpful Stranger**

The night was still early and cold still nipped the air. I looked at the sky, not to looking at anything in particular, just wondering. I shook my head, replaying what had happened to me, just a few months ago. This was probably the worst thing to ever happen to me.

As I reached Rose Square, I heard a noise. _Someone was out with me? No, that couldn't be… no one's out at this time. _Then, I heard it again. Yes, someone was in the square, but I couldn't tell who. I decided to ignore it and move on with my walk.

My footsteps seemed so loud in the quiet plaza, and, for a minute, I thought I should've run. But, a voice stopped my walking and the broke the silence. It sounded scared. "W-Who's there? I-Is someone here?"

I gulped. _What should I say? My name? Nothing? _Once again, the voice stopped my thoughts and continued. "P-Please… I'm lost. I-Is anyone there?"

This time I sighed and answered. "Y-yes." _Why was I stammering?! _ I heard someone get up. I looked around and saw a figure come over to me.

No wonder I was stammering, it was a girl. I can never talk to girls, I always messed up… this was going to be difficult…

"I-I'm really sorry… I'm new. I don't have any clue where I'm going. Could you help me, ummmm…"

"… my name's- uh…" I stammered. She laughed softly and nervously. _Oh great, she already thinks I'm a loser!_

"I'm sorry, a-am I making you nervous? Well, I-I'm Eve, if that makes anything better." I saw her play with her fingers. _Wait, was she nervous, too?_

"No! I mean-no, it's-it's ummmm… well-" I stammered again. _Damn it, can't I get one thing right?! _ I saw her shake her head.

"I'm sorry, I really am… if y-you don't want to, I'll find my way ba-"

"It's fine! I-I'm just…really bad at, uh, these, uh, sort of… things…" I told Eve, my voice trailing off. She looked at the ground, she was really timid. I scratched the back of my head, thinking of what else to say. Nothing came up… crap…

"Well, if you're not comfortable, maybe you could just tell me where to go, and I'll make it." I looked at her closely through the darkness. While I couldn't see the details of her face, I noticed her eyes were narrowed. I decided to ask her something.

"Eve? Do you need glasses?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I usually wear contacts. But, I can't wear them when I sleep. So, when I was falling asleep on the boat, I took them out."

"How well can you see without them?"

"… not well." She explained turning her head away. After a few moments, she looked back at me.

"So, do you now the way to Golden Farm?" I nodded.

"I'll take you there now."

So, we walked. Once we had walked a good deal, I realized I had talked to a girl, without stammering for a few sentences. Even more amazing, to my shock, I had held out my arm for her to hold so she could walk alongside me and know where I was.

Eve let go of my arm, which snapped me out of my astonishment. We were already in front of her new house. She turned to me before opening the door. "I'm sorry about earlier, and I really appreciate your help. I hope to see you around town, my helpful stranger."

She gave me a good night and slipped into her house. I stood there for a few minutes and then walked away, heading for the Inn.

_Who is she? I mean, I know her name's Eve. But what does she look like? What does she like to do? ... … …What kind of guy she's interested in?_


	3. A Walk Around Town

Chapter 3: A Walk Around Town

**Chapter 3: A Walk Around Town**

I sat in my regular spot in the Church, thinking to myself. Carter seemed anxious and was pacing toward the entrance. But, it probably had nothing to do with me. So, I continued to sit and ponder.

After a few minutes rolled by, I heard the doors of the Church open. _Carter's probably going outside to see May and Stu._ To my surprise, I heard Carter talking to someone. _I __**really **__hope it isn't Ann…_

You see, when I was little, my mom would bring me and my sister to Mineral Town for a week or so. Every time, Ann would bug me. Everyone, including me, knew she had (and still has) a crush on me. She's okay, but too aggressive and too annoying; so, I don't think I'll ever date her. But then again, who can I?

_There's that new girl, Eve… no, you barely even know her. Besides, did you listen to her stutter last night? You probably scared her when you walked across the square… Crap, I'm such an idiot…_

While I was arguing to myself, I didn't notice someone came over and sat next to me. "Excuse me, are you Cliff?"

Her voice startled me and I jumped back to reality. She stopped smiling and looked at me thoughtfully. _Wonderful! Yet another girl thinks I'm a loser! The more the merrier! _(That was sarcasm)

I looked at the floor, hoping she would stop looking at me and go away; she didn't. She continued to watch me, and I felt my face begin to blush. I stole a glace at her, to see who it was. To my disbelief, I had no clue who she was!

Her red hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and her face was dotted by freckles. She seemed very thin and fragile. I stopped and continued looking at the floor. Yet, she still stared at me.

I closed my eyes, about to give up, until I felt a warm pair of arms wrap around me. My eyes snapped open to find that the girl was hugging me. At first I wanted her to get off, but… it felt warm. It felt really nice…

She stopped and sat back down, giving me a smile. "Alright, I know that may have been awkward, but you looked like you needed it."

I felt myself blushing again. "Uh… y-yeah, t-thanks… ummmm…"

She turned her face away. "Y-You don't know who I am, d-do you?" My eyes widened.

"E-Eve?"

She looked back at me with a shy smile. "I hoped that you'd remember."

"What about your glasses?"

Eve shook her head. "I'm wearing my contacts right now. Anyway, I-I wanted to thank you properly. Well, thank you C-Cliff. Thank you very much."

I couldn't help it, I smiled. "Y-You're welcome." She then stopped smiling and looked at me with concern.

"Are you okay? Why are you in here when it's such a nice day outside?"

I looked at the floor. "I-I don't think I'm going to go outside for a while… I just r-really need to think…"

"Well then, why not think outside?" I looked up to see a worried look on her face. I didn't like that on her. I tried my best to explain without telling her too much about… it.

"W-Well… I-I just can't, okay Eve?" _Oh, yeah, that explains a lot. She'll never bother you ever again, right Cliffy? _Sometimes, I really hate that sarcastic voice in my head.

She began to blush. "Oh… I see. I-I was just hoping t-that someone could show me around. I'm n-not very good at talking to people, so I-I was hoping you could-"

"Sure!" I blurted out. "I-I mean… y-yeah, I-I'll show you around."

Her face lit up. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I really needed someone to come with me!"

The day was almost over, and dusk was settling over Mineral Town. Eve and I had seen most of the people. I was about to take her home when she stopped me and smiled shyly. "I-I was hoping that we could go to the Inn for dinner. I-I'll buy?"

I blushed. "S-Sure… sounds great."

I brought her to the Inn and told her about Duke and Ann. "So, Ann was your girlfriend?" she asked me giving me a smirk.

I shook my head vigorously. "NO! We never went out! She just… uh… likes me…"

Eve giggled shyly. "Okay, okay! I get it! Say, didn't you tell me earlier that you had a roommate at the Inn?"

I nodded and opened the doors to said Inn. "Yeah his name's- Eve, what's wrong?" Her jaw had dropped. She looked quite pale, too.

"Eve?! Is that you?!" I heard my roommate yell.

**What's wrong? Why's Eve so pale? How does Gray know her name? Find out soon!**


	4. Ann and Gray

Chapter 4: Ann and Gray

**Chapter 4: Ann and Gray**

I watched as Eve ran to Gray and flung her arms around his neck. Gray was in absolute shock, but not by the hug, because he tightly hugged her right back. She let go to look at him.

"Dear Goddess, it's been so long! I can't believe it's-"

"-been thirteen years!" he interrupted her. Gray stood back and studied her, from her head to her feet. "You're definitely not the little girl _I_ remember!"

She laughed. "And you're not the boy I remember… although; you still seem pretty tall…"

Gray shrugged. "Sue me. I don't believe it… What are you doing here? I thought you would stay at Flower Bud."

"No, my parents thought it would be good for me. You know, 'cause of my green thumb." Eve flexed her thumb for emphasis.

I shook my head. _How did Gray know her? _"Ummmm…"

Eve turned to me and gave an airy laugh. "I'm sorry Cliff! I was in so much shock!"

"So, what? Did you guys used to go out?" I asked, my inside voice hoping that I was wrong.

Gray chuckled. "No, she's my little sis!"

It was my turn for my jaw to drop open. "What?! You never told me you had a sister!!"

Eve giggled and blushed. "We're not really brother and sister! We lived in the same town and our parents were good friends. They said that because we looked a lot alike, we could be siblings."

I looked at them, and it was true. Both had red hair and blue eyes. Gray's being a lighter blue than Eve's. I nodded. Eve came over to me. "Well, should we have dinner? It's getting late and I need to get home soon."

I smiled. "Yeah, let's eat."

"We'll catch up with you tomorrow, Eve. I need to hear about Flower Bud." Gray gave us a good night and headed upstairs. As we sat down, I asked Eve about him.

"When did you meet Gray?"

"Since I could remember. We did almost everything together!"

"Really? Well, for as long as I've known Gray, he seems like a more solitary kind of guy."

Eve's eyes widened. "That's weird… but I guess I understand."

"Why?"

She sighed. "Well, it depends on who you're with. For example, if I was dared to go outside, in the middle of Winter, in a bikini, and dance in front of the mayor, it depends on who I'm with if I would do it. If I was with, like, Karen, and Popuri, I wouldn't. But, if I were with my friends back in Flower Bud Village, I'd probably do it in a heartbeat." Eve finished, blushing.

I shook my head. "How about we just eat?"

She blushed harder. "S-Sorry… That's the only example I could think of!"

"How'd you think of that, anyway?"

She avoided my gaze. I felt myself blush. "Did you actually get dared to do that before?!"

She winced and then nodded. I slapped my forehead. "Dear goddess! What kind of people live in Flower Bud Village?!"

Ann walked over to us while we were laughing. "What can I get you?"

"Finest curry, please Ann." She gave me a grin. _Sigh…_

"I'll try some curry, too. Thank you, Ann." I saw Ann avoid Eve's smile, and she gave her a quick glare. Then, she turned away to get our meals.

Once we finished our dinners, I walked Eve home. It was a quiet walk, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. She finally turned to me and asked me about Ann.

"Do you think Ann doesn't like me?"

"I don't know. She doesn't know you very well yet."

"Yeah, but she didn't ask about me, you know. She didn't ask for my name, or who I was, or what I was doing there. She just gave us our meals and talked directly to you."

This time, I agreed with Eve. Ann was usually annoyingly curious; but this time, nothing. I shrugged to answer Eve. She took it and looked forward, going into thought like I was.

I dropped her off at her house and said good night, and returned to my room. Unfortunately, I was met by the annoyingly curious Ann.

"Who was that girl earlier? Why was she with you? Did she flirt with you? Does she like you? Did you tell her about me? Is she from the city? Is she going back to the city soon?"

"Shut up, will you?!" I yelled at her. Goddess! I was so frickin' sick of her onslaught of questions! _Tell her that you and Eve are going out! That'll shut her up!_

I shook my head, removing that idea. I opened my eyes, only to see a very pissed Ann.

"What did you say to me?!" Then, she shook her head, calming herself down. "Fine, but answer me this one question, WHO WAS THAT?"

"Eve, her name was Eve." I walked away before she could say to me 'Alright, one more question…'

Gray must've heard me yell at Ann, because he didn't say anything to me. He just went to bed silently. I did the same, but I couldn't go to sleep that night.

My mind seemed to focus on Eve.


	5. Big Bro's Mad

Chapter 6: Big Bro's Mad…

**Sorry for the wait! Writer's block + School +Extra Homework **equals **Bad time for Eve! Well, read and review! Thanks!**

**Chapter 6: Big Bro's Mad…**

The field that was once littered with sticks, weeds, and rocks, was now almost completely clear. The only things in my way were a few stumps and boulders, nothing I can't tackle later. I hoed a few areas to prepare for my new turnip plants. All I needed to do was buy some seeds.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my handkerchief with total satisfaction. _Only been two days and my field looks great!_

A cool breeze made my ponytail swish to the side. It was a beautiful Spring day, and boy, I was in a great mood! Everything seemed brighter, more fresh, and sunny! I smiled to myself as I walked away from my farm to the supermarket.

I gave Rick a shy wave as he passed by, he returned the wave. I looked at the Blacksmith's. _Blacksmith? That sounds familiar… hmmm… _I shrugged to myself and continued my walk/ skip.

Karen greeted me as soon as I opened the door. "Hi! How are you Eve?"

I gave her a smile in answer. She took it. I bought my turnip seeds as fast as I could. There was someone I had to talk to.

My seeds were planted and watered! All I had to do was find Gray. _Thirteen years… thirteen long years… he's not been there._

_Flashback_

_"Hurry up! We're gonna miss the fireworks!" The little boy ran as fast as he could down the stone road. A girl chased after him._

_"Don't run so fast! I can't keep up!"_

_"Not my fault you're so slow!"_

_She stopped and rubbed her eyes. He turned and saw her, so he ran back. "I'm sorry, Eve. I didn't-"_

_"Ha-ha!" She laughed running ahead of him._

_"Not fair!" He pouted, but ran to catch up._

_The two made it just in time. "Wow…" they breathed in unison, watching the fiery bursts of colors flourish the black night._

_"It gets better every year…" Eve sighed, still focusing on the fireworks. "What do you think, Gray?"_

_He faced her and smiled. "Yep! Gets better and better!"_

_"I heard mommy telling daddy that the fireworks came from Mineral Town. Where's that?"_

_He faced the young redhead. "I don't know… sounds weird."_

_She giggled. "Nah! It's probably like Flower Bud!"_

_He took his cap, which was too big for him, off and scratched his strawberry-colored hair. "Well, what do we know? Maybe Blue will tell us when we go back home."_

_"Okay!"_

_As Gray turned to face the fireworks, Eve wondered about this… Mineral Town. Was it far away? Did it have lots of people? Were they nice? … Would she prefer to stay home?_

* * *

As I entered the Inn, I knew the answers to each of them. 1. A little 2. Not really 3. Yes, very! 4. … okay, so I didn't have the answers to all of them! But 3 out of 4 are pretty good.

Doug and Ann were the only ones around. Because of Ann's glare from yesterday, I'd rather talk to Doug.

"Uh, hello Doug." I greeted. He gave me a warm smile.

"Why, hello Eve! What can I do ya for?"

I twirled my hair around my finger. "I was wondering where Gray was. I was hoping we could talk."

He nodded. "Sure! He's probably still at the Blacksmiths at this time."

All of the sudden it came back to me. The last day I saw him, until yesterday, of course.

_"… … I'm leaving." I felt my throat burn._

_"W-What?" He nodded sadly, looking at the ground. He was avoiding my face._

_"My grandpa wants me to learn to be a Blacksmith…"_

_"W-What's that?" My voice shook._

_"I don't know… but that's what he wants me to be. So, I-I have to go to Mineral Town to live with him…"_

_I started to cry. He couldn't! He just couldn't! … But he had to…_

I snapped out of my flashback-like daydream and thanked Doug for the information.

"Thank you, Doug. I'll see you later."

He waved. "Come soon!"

* * *

When I opened the door to the Blacksmith's Shop, I was welcomed with shouts and bickering.

"What?! Explain to me what's wrong with it! Come on!"

"What's wrong with it!? The answer is inside of you!" Saibara told Gray. "You have much to learn!"

Gray turned. "What are you looking- Eve?"

My eyes were opened wide. I blinked. Finally, I found my voice. "I-If this is a-a bad time, I-I could come back l-later…"

Saibara finally realized who I was. "Eve! Is that you?" I nodded hesitantly, in case he might yell at me, too…

He gave an airy laugh. "My, how much you've grown! I last saw you when I took Gray to Mineral Town. You were eight, weren't you? How old are you now?"

I giggled. "I'm 21, Saibara."

He slapped his forehead. "Dear Goddess! I'm getting old!" he then stopped smiling and spoke sympathetically. "I'm sorry you had to hear that Eve. Gray still doesn't understand-"

"What?! I understand it perfectly! This necklace is fine! What I don't get is why-"

"Gray." I spoke gently. He looked at me then at his grandfather. "Fine… can I take a break?"

Saibara nodded. "Come back with a cooler head."

As we walked out of the shop Gray apologized. "I'm really sorry… Grandpa's just…"

I offered him a smile. "Well, how do think you do, you know, as a Blacksmith?"

"I'm good, but not as good as Grandpa."

I shook my head. "Positives, Gray. I want to hear good things."

"I'm pretty good…"

"Wrong answer!"

"What?" He gave me a confused look; I just kept smiling. "Okay… I'm okay-"

"Wrong!"

"Stop that! I'm GOOD but not great!"

I rolled my eyes. "You can't even say one good thing about yourself, can you?"

"Yes I can!" I saw him fix his hat. "Prove it." I challenged him.

"I'm… uh…um…" I laughed.

"That's really sad you know!" He gave me a look; I rolled my eyes at it.

"C'mon, Gray. You're good at a lot of things!"

"Like what?"

"Do you remember the races we had? You always won! No matter who you raced! And… oh yeah! Do you remember hide 'n' seek? You were last to be found!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but those were when I was a kid."

I gave him a grin. "So what? Plus, you're still the best big brother ever!"

This time, he smiled back. "Thanks, Eve."

"I know what'll cheer you up! Let's have a race to my house!"

We lined up on the stone path. "Ready? Set…" Gray stared.

"GOOOOO!!" We yelled in unison. My big brother was back.


	6. Doctor, Doctor!

Chapter 5: Doctor, Doctor

**This is a REALLY short chapter. But, I had to explain how the Doctor felt about Eve and Cliff. Soooo... here ya go!**

**Chapter 5: Doctor, Doctor!**

_Oh. My. Goddess. _Those were the first three words that came to my mind when I first saw her; Eve that is. Before she arrived, Elli and I were actually discussing about the new farmer.

"So, do you know her yet?" Elli asked me.

"Who?"

"The new framer! I heard it's a girl."

I sighed. The last farmer we had, Claire I think her name was, didn't like the farm life so much and moved. "No, I don't know anything about her and she'll probably end up moving like Claire did."

"Don't be so judgmental, Doctor. She might be quite good this time!"

I rolled my eyes. _Not likely…_ I heard the door open to the Clinic. Elli greeted them. "Oh! Hello Cliff! Is this the new farmer we've heard about?"

I stayed where I was. _Elli was probably coming in with them right about…_

"Doctor? Here's the new farmer the town's been talking about!" _…now._

I looked up from my work. There, standing behind Cliff, was the farmer. Her deep red hair was pulled back out of her freckled face. She seemed extremely shy and her voice was soft. "H-Hello D-Doctor."

I spoke when I finally found my voice. "Hello."

Eve came out from behind Cliff and introduced herself. "I-I'm Eve. I-It's nice to meet you."

Cliff gave me a nod. "Hello Doctor Trent." I gave him a nod in return. Personally, I didn't like Cliff that much. All the girls seemed to worry about him, especially Ann, and acted as though he was some poor, lost puppy in need of a home. Blech…

Eve turned to Cliff. "I think we better head to the Supermarket now. I think the Doctor has a lot of work to do…" He nodded in agreement.

She turned to me again. "I-It was nice to meet you. I hope to see you a-another time."

Elli led them out. Then, she returned to me. She was giggling. "What?" I asked.

"Oh, (giggle) nothing…" she continued giggling. "I just happened to see the way you looked at her…"

I felt my face get hot. "W-What are you talking about?!"

Elli's giggles turned to a laugh. "Trent and Eve! Trent and Eve! Trent and Eve!"

I covered my face with my hands. _Elli was probably going to bug me about this for weeks…_

I continued my work, ignoring Elli's sing-songy tune, and trying my best to prevent my thoughts from returning to the redhead farmer I just met.


	7. A Little Green?

Chapter 7: A Little Green

**Chapter 7: A Little Green**

I took a deep breath; it was another beautiful day in Mineral Town. As I left the Inn to the Church, I couldn't help but wonder about Gray and Eve. _Do you think he likes her? ... No, she told me yesterday that they never dated… but that doesn't mean that he didn't like her… Crap, I need to stop that! It's not like I like her, right? … Right?! … No. No, I don't like her… she's a friend…_

I put my hand to my temple and shook my head. _Crap, this is confusing… Wait, this shouldn't be confusing at all! I just met her two days ago! Not even that long! _I slapped my forehead as I neared the Church. "Something the matter, Cliff?"

I looked up from the ground to see Carter. He was smiling, as usual, but this time it was a worried smile. I smiled the best I could, but even that must have been pretty weak, because he saw right through it.

"Come on in, Cliff. There's definitely something on your mind." I knew if I didn't agree, he'd find _some_ way to get me to talk… So, I entered the Church.

We sat down on the pews and he started the little "therapy" session. "What's the problem?"

I combed the strands of hair out of my face with my fingers, but with no prevail. "I-It's nothing, Carter…" _Not very convincing… But still, I think I've already handled i- … … …okay, so I've achieved nothing…_

He nodded. "Hmmm… of course. So 'nothing' is the reason why you're daydreaming constantly?"

I snapped back from my thoughts to reality. "What?"

"You're only proving my point Cliff! Now, you know you can tell me anything, so why not now?"

I sighed. _I had to find a way out of here… _"Is that the time?" I asked, looking at my imaginary watch. "Whoops! Gotta go, see ya Carter!"

I ran out as fast as I could. _Whew… you almost told him! _ Again, I combed my fingers through my hair. I did that when I was nervous or thinking. This was one of those times…

My mind debated over and over again, still on the topic of Eve and Gray. STILL!! I closed my eyes, and my head continued to dispute. Yeah, closing my eyes wasn't the best of ideas, because that prevents you from seeing. This prevents you from tripping over the rock in front of you. But of course, I still had my eyes closed and I tripped.

**THUD**

I fell. When I got up, someone was calling my name. "Cliff? Are you alright?"

I opened my eyes and I saw Eve coming over to me… Gray was close behind. I almost felt… mad, that Gray was there, that he was with her. _Crap, I am jealous of Gray!_

Eve came over to me and helped me up. "What happened? I heard a thud and ran out. And when I did, you were lying on the ground!"

I blushed, which I hoped Eve didn't see. "I-I'm fine…"

She gave me a shy smile. "Alright then. Did you want to join me and Gray? We were talking about Flower Bud Village after he left." She leaned over to me and whispered. "If you ever want to embarrass Gray, I think you'll want to hear my stories."

I laughed as Gray came over. "What's so funny?"

She giggled. "Oh… nothing. Nothing at all, Gray. Let's get back to my place. Cliff's going to join us. Well, that is, if he wants to…" Eve turned to me.

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She gave me a smile and stared to walk back; Gray and I followed.

If Gray did like Eve, he didn't show it. He seemed totally relaxed and laid back. On the other hand, I felt tense. Like if I said something wrong, I would regret it… _crap … … again._

When we entered her house, the first thing I noticed was how dirty it was. I mean, she must have arrived and it was like this. Dust was everywhere, especially in the air. Eve cringed and then faced us. "On second thought, can we talk outside?"

Gray and I didn't even answer; we just turned and walked out. I heard Eve giggle, then cough, behind us.

She took a deep breath of fresh air then started the conversation. "Alright, so where should we begin?"

Gray shrugged. "I think you were talking about your family."

To my amazement, the word 'family' didn't bring a rush of guilt to me, but curiousness; I was curious. I'd never thought about Eve's family, just never came to me I guess. Eve gave a shy smile. "Oh yes, well… Ma and Dad are doing quite fine. Sage, engh, she's a pest as ever…"

"Who's Sage?" I asked Eve. She smiled warmly. "She's my little sister!"

I slapped my forehead for the second time today. "How many siblings are you not telling me about?!" Eve laughed wholeheartedly.

"Eve only has one sister, and that's Sage." Gray answered, chuckling with Eve. I don't know, but his remark sounded like… it was so obvious. Gray was getting on my nerves today.

Eve stopped laughing and continued. "If you're wondering Gray, she still probably hates you for calling her short all those years…"

He rolled his eyes. "Does it look like I care?" Eve shook her head.

"You should, considering you almost asked her to the Starry Night Festival when you were, like, eight!"

To my pleasure, Gray started turning a light shade of pink. Eve laughed again. "Alright, alright! I get it. No more talking about Sa-age!"

He gave her a scowl, but then began to smirk suspiciously. "So, how's JOE?" Eve stopped laughing abruptly and turned pink. She began to twirl a strand of hair around her finger.

"H-He's fine…" I felt blood come to my face. _Who's Joe?!_

"Really? So nothing…" he started. Eve's face turned redder. She looked away from Gray. "I-I have n-no idea what y-you're talking a-about…"

Gray laughed. Eve finally faced him. "I get it, I get it. I'll stop bugging you about sage if you stop bugging me about Joe. Deal?"

He smirked. "Fine, deal." I decided to learn more about this… _Joe._

"Who's Joe?" I asked as casually as I could without hissing his name. Eve was about to speak, but Gray answered for her.

"Why, that's Eve's old bo-" But he didn't finish.

"Gray! Stop! Please! I didn't like him! He was just another one of our friends! Besides…" she sighed. "He liked Katie too much to go out with me…"

I kind of felt bad for asking her, but a wave of relief washed over me when she said that he didn't go out with her. _What are you talking about?! Why should you care?! She's not your… girlfriend… So she can date whoever she wants!!_

"You didn't know, Cliff. Nothing to worry about at all!" I looked up to see Eve giving me a smile. I cocked my head.

"How'd you know what I was thinking?" Her face softened. "I sort of read it on your face. It's pretty easy to read people, you especially."

I straightened up. "R-Really?" She laughed airily. "Yes, like right now…" She began to study my face, then, all of the sudden, her face lit up. "You have a lot on your mind. Your thoughts keep coming back to that one problem that's filled with other problems.

I felt my face get hot with the blush spreading over it. "How'd you know?"

Her face went from a smile to worry. I didn't like seeing her worried, it made me feel like I did something wrong… Eve tried studying my face some more, but I looked at the ground to prevent her from watching me anymore. I heard Gray talk.

"I think Cliff and I better head back to the Inn, it's getting late. We'll see you tomorrow, Eve!" We walked away as fast as walking could be considered actual 'walking'.

I glanced over to Gray. He was looking forward. Keeping his face ahead, he talked to me. "If you don't want Eve to know what your problem is, don't look down or away from her. She'll keep pursuing to find out what's wrong. Believe me, I know. She's good at it, she'd always find out what was going on with me…"

Gray wasn't angry at me, but warning me. "What happened if she found out?"

He sighed. "She'd ask how I felt about it, and then gave me the best damn advice I've ever heard."

"Then why not tell her?" I wasn't saying I would tell her of course! I just wanted to know…

Gray turned to me. "I guess, a guy's got to have his dignity."

I raised my eyebrow. "That's it? You won't tell her what's bugging you just because you think your dignity would get hurt?"

Gray frowned. "Well, it looks like you didn't open up either, Mr. Sensitive."

I sighed. _Of all people, why did Eve have to be able to read someone's thoughts… sigh Maybe Gray can tell me more about this… _Joe…

When we were safe from other people's ears, I asked him. "So, who is Joe?" He looked up at me with a quizzical expression.

"Why do you keep asking that? You sound like some jealous boyfriend!" I felt my face turn a deep crimson; he didn't notice, but continued. "He's a really nice guy back at Flower Bud, one of Eve's good guy friends. There was a whole group of us back at Flower Bud… they were good friends of mine."

I let Gray go back to his childhood memories. I sat down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering.

_If Eve didn't date Gray OR this Joe guy… who did she date?_


	8. KIDS?

Chapter 8: KIDS

**Chapter 8: KIDS?!**

It was nice today, a little warm, but that's what happens when it's almost Summer. On my way to the Church, I decided to go to Eve's instead. She asked me to stop for weeks now, but I kept turning her down. _'Cause you're afraid that you'll be alone with her… _SHUT UP, FRICKIN' VOICE IN MY HEAD!! -Sigh- But it was unfortunately true. I could barely have a conversation with her, I needed someone else there. But, today, I'll give it a shot.

When I entered Golden Farm, I heard someone shuffling around, as if in a hurry. I walked over to the front of her house and I saw two girls, about 2 and 3 years old. They had fair skin and extremely light blonde hair that fell to their shoulders. Both were running in circles, yelling about some 'dragon'.

"You be the bad dwagon, and I'll be the knight!" the older girl said.

The younger didn't reply, but shook her head in disagreement. The older girl pouted then her face lit up with an idea. "Let's get Eve to be the bad dwagon!"

As if on cue, Eve came out of the house. She had a bandana holding back the fallen pieces of hair her ponytail didn't catch. She wore an apron over her normal attire, which was covered in dust. "Eve! Eve! Can you be the bad dwagon and I'll be the knight?"

Eve sighed. "I'm sorry; I don't think I can right know. I told you I was cleaning the-" but her refusal was cut short by the quivering of the girls' lower lips. Eve caved. "Fine! I'll be the bad dragon."

The two girls began to chase Eve in circles with their imaginary swords. Eve turned around and gave a roar, the two screamed with delight and fled. I couldn't help but laugh aloud. Watching Eve _roar _was just too funny!

Eve looked over and saw me, she blushed deeply. The older girl came over to me. "Are you here to help us slay the bad dwagon?"

Eve came over to the girl and stroked her blonde hair. "Katheryn, this is Cliff, a good friend of mine." Katheryn giggled.

"Oh, is he gonna help me?" She asked again, referring to the 'dwagon'. _Hold on… who are these kids?_

"Katheryn, go get Elena and play over there. I have to ask Cliff a favor." Katheryn nodded enthusiastically. She bounded away, following Eve's orders.

"Who are those girls?" I finally asked. She turned her attention away from the girls. "Oh, those are my cousins."

I raised an eyebrow. "What about this 'dwagon'?" She paled slightly. "O-Oh, n-nothing nothing! I-It's just a silly g-game they read out of a b-book. T-That's all!"

_Is it me, or is she hiding something? _For once, I agree with my inner voice. She seemed fidgety and wanted to get out of the subject. So, she changed it.

"Listen, Cliff? Can you watch the girls for me? I have to clean the house- it's so filthy- and I can't look after them while I do that…"

"ME?! Why me?! Can't Gray do it?!" I was shocked. Me, babysitting?! I don't think so. I'm not good with kids, and if I have to work with little girls… yeah, not gonna happen.

She shook her head. "I know Gray would bring them to the Blacksmiths and they are **way** too young to go there yet. I thought you could maybe, well, take them to the waterfall. They would really love that."

I felt my cheeks flush. I couldn't say no, but I didn't want to say yes either… "... Fine. I'll watch 'em." Eve's face lit up.

"ThankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!!" She spoke so quickly, I could barely understand. Eve gave me a quick hug and ran off to tell Elena and Katheryn. The hug shook me a little, it was unexpected, but… very warm.

Once I was introduced to Elena, we headed off to the waterfall. Katheryn talked to me about the 'dwagon'.

"Eve told me about dwagons when I was weally little." Katheryn explained.

"Really? How does she know?" I can't talk to kids very well, as you can see…

Katheryn shrugged, and then ran ahead. Elena ran to catch up with her. Elena was a little afraid of me, being a stranger and all. When I turned the corner I saw Elena staring at the water, eyes opened wide. I walked beside her and crouched down to get eye-to-eye.

"… Pretty water." she spoke quietly. I chuckled. She was really cute, Elena. She was so soft-spoken; and when she did speak, it was the most adorable things.

Katheryn jumped on my back, almost sending me into the 'pretty water'. I finally got my balance and asked them a question. "What do you want to do?"

Katheryn sent a fist in the air. "I want to play a game! Elena can be the princess, I'll be the knight, and Cliff can be the bad dwagon!"

"You really like dragons, don't you?" She nodded and slid off of my back.

"Be a dwagon! ROOOOOOOAR!" Katheryn roared. I rolled my eyes. _I can't do this. What was Eve thinking?!_

Elena came over to me. "You dwagon?"

I shrugged. "Your sister says I am."

She shook her head. "No, you like dwagon? No be dwagon?" I was surprised. She must have guessed I didn't want to be the dragon. Katheryn caught on.

"Oh! You don't wanna be the dwagon? I'll be the dwagon then!" She stomped around and roared. Then, she jumped in the air, pretending to fly off the ground. Elena gave a small shriek of excitement and ran after her sister.

I sat by the edge of the pond, watching them 'battle'. Looking at them shriek and giggle made me think about my childhood. It was great… until my dad died. _That's why I ran away. I couldn't handle seeing my mom and sister so hurt… never mind, it doesn't matter know._

As I thought, I seemed to become deaf to my surroundings. I didn't hear the cry of pain that was uttered behind me. I finally snapped back to actuality and turned to see Katheryn sitting on the ground holding her shin, crying. I ran over and saw that it was bleeding, but not a lot.

"What happened?" She looked up at me.

"I-I tripped over a rock and I-I-I cut myself!" She wailed. My brows furrowed.

"Don't you know to look where you're going?" She cried louder as I shook my head. _Damn it… what am I going to do? Now she's crying even more! … What was Eve thinking, asking ME to baby-sit her cousins!_

I watched Elena walk over to her sobbing sibling. "No cry, Katheryn. No cry…" _Even a two year old knows how to talk to kids better than I do! _Ignoring my inner voice,I let my face soften.

I knelt beside Katheryn and sighed. "I'm sorry Katheryn, I shouldn't have snapped at you. Let's get you to the Clinic." I picked her up and began to carry her to the Clinic, with Elena running alongside me to keep up.

Katheryn sniffled. "I-I… I'm sowwy (sorry) Cliffy… I-I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you in the first place." When I heard her stutter, I couldn't help but think of Eve. _Eve… OH DAMN IT! SHE"S GONNA KILL ME AFTER SHE SEES WHAT HAPPENED TO KATHERYN!! _My mind panicked. I had never seen Eve mad before, a bad sign…

Elena tugged my shirt. "Eve?" _Damn, even SHE could read my mind…_

"We'll see Eve later, Elena." She nodded and looked ahead at the Clinic.

I opened the door with my open hand and let Elena in. Elli came over to me. "Oh, what happened to her?"

"She… she fell. She got a cut on her leg." I hesitated because I knew the scolding was coming.

"Cliff! Didn't you watch the- hey, wait… who are they?" Oh, yeah. I forgot, the girls didn't live here. No one knows who they are.

"Oh, sorry. They're Eve's little cousins; she could watch them for the day, so she asked me." Elli nodded. Instead of continuing her tirade, she took Katheryn out of my arms and began to take her to Doctor Trent. As soon as I realized who was treating her, I followed behind Elli. Elena ran after me.

Doctor Trent was a nice guy and all, but a little intimidating… I know. But to my surprise, Katheryn was chatting away to the doctor. "We were playing Dwagon, Elena was the knight this time and I was the bad dwagon. We ran and ran and ran and ran until… BOOM!" she extended her little arms in the air, imitating an explosion. "I fell!" she giggled.

Trent nodded. "Alright. Who was watching you?"

She pointed at me. "Cliffy! He was gonna be the bad dwagon, but he didn't want to! So, I was the bad dwagon!" She roared for emphasis.

He gave me a stern look. "Cliff, you know better than to let two young girls run around without being looked after!" I looked away, feeling guilty.

"Not nice!" I turned to see the shy Elena wag a finger at the doctor. Katheryn nodded.

"I fell because a rock tripped me, Cliff didn't trip me! I would have told Eve on him if he did!" I blinked a few times. They were standing up for me. It felt... good, having them think of me that way. I smiled; they were a lot like Eve.

When I walked to Golden Farm, Katheryn had fallen asleep riding my back and Elena slept sitting on my arm and holding my neck. Eve was outside, leaning against a tree. She had a pencil and pad in hand. She turned and saw me. "Oh! There you-" but she stopped and came to help me put the girls in the house to sleep.

I watched her pick Katheryn of my back and onto her only bed. Katheryn giggled in her sleep, it made Eve giggle, too. I took Elena's arms off of my neck and laid her next to her sister. Eve put a blanket over them, and they snuggled into better positions to sleep.

I could help but grin, I may have been hesitant to watch them earlier today, but I'd probably do it again if Eve asked me another time.

Eve ushered me out of the house. She seemed curious. "What did you three do today?"

I felt my face get hot. I hesitated telling her about Katheryn. "Katheryn, well… she fell down and… she cut her leg…" I winced because I was used to Ann yelling at me for something like that happening. I wasn't met by yells, but a calm voice.

"It's not like you tripped her, now did you? I'm sure she just fell by accident; a rock or something. There was nothing you could do about it but get her to the Clinic, that's all." I opened my eyes to see a smiling Eve.

That's what I liked about Eve, whenever I expected yells, fury, or anger; I met calm, cool, and concerned. A corner of my mouth turned up. "Thanks, Eve."

She smiled again. "I should be thanking you! Speaking of which…" she pulled out her change purse and handed me money.

"N-No! I can't accept this! You're my friend, I wanted to help."

She shook her head. "No way, I'd feel so guilty if I didn't pay you! You deserve it. Please, take it."

I shook my head. "No, and that's final." She sighed then gave me a smile. "Should I tell the girls you say bye?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry Cliff, I didn't tell you! They were just here for the day!" I nodded. "Yeah, tell them I say bye."

She gave me a smirk. "They'll come back some other time. When they do, I'll let you know."

"Sure, I'll see you later!" I told her walking away. I watched her go back in her house with a triumphant look on her face. At first, I was confused, but then, I looked at my hand. In it, was the money she offered me for watching the girls.


	9. Summer Sleepover

Chapter 9: Summer Sleepover

**Chapter 9: Summer Sleepover**

I breathed in the sweet air of Summer. The usual calm breeze of Spring was replaced by humidity and scents bearing grass and salt water. It wasn't hot, but not cool either. I was on the beach, sitting in Kai's Seaside Lodge. Kai himself was chatting away happily with Gray; Gray, however, wasn't.

"I don't think so!" Gray argued. Kai gave him a face.

"Why? I mean, no girl can resist this!" Kai said, giving a smug expression as he referred to himself.

Gray shook his head. "You don't know her; I do. She's not going to fall for it."

They were talking about Eve. Kai had learned about her from Popuri, and he started telling Gray that it was another girl to be put under his spell. To Kai's displeasure, Gray laughed aloud and told him otherwise. This conversation started this morning, and now it's still continuing and it's about 12 in the afternoon…

I sighed loudly, hoping that they'd realize I was there. They didn't… "Want to bet on it?" Gray challenged Kai. His face was smug and predicting triumph.

"You're on!" Kai shook his hand with total enthusiasm. Gray stood up from his seat.

"Let's go to her farm right now!" Kai agreed by throwing his apron to the ground and racing Gray. I ran behind, hoping that Gray was right…

When we arrived at the farm, Eve was watering her new crops. Kai sneaked behind her, she didn't hear him. "Hey there!"

She froze up then spun around to face Kai. Her eyes were widened and her mouth was open in a small 'o' shape. He smiled so large that his eyes closed.

"Looks like we have another hottie in the town!" He laughed. Eve looked confused.

"D-Do you mean m-me?" she managed to stutter.

Kai laughed again. "Who do you think I was talking about? Gray?"

"Hey!" Gray yelled. Kai ignored him and continued to flirt with Eve.

"My name's Kai, you've probably heard all about me though. All the girls in this town can't help but talk about how great I am… sooooo, what's your name, cutie?"

"… Eve…" she meekly replied. I couldn't tell if she was blushing or not.

Kai decided to go for a little less subtle approach. "Do you want to go out with me?" Eve's face went from shy to curious.

"What?"

"Do you… want to… go out… with me?" Kai said slowly.

Eve blushed._ Oh no… not Eve, too! _"I don't think so, I don't know you. I just met you today, that's a little fast. Maybe if I get to know you better, Kai, maybe then."

Kai's expression was funny; it was a combination of shock and pleasure. Shocked that she refused his offer, but pleased by how she said maybe later. Gray smirked. "I knew it. You owe me, Kai."

Kai shook his head. "Fine, thought I'd never see the day…"

Eve smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, Kai. I just don't know you well yet." Kai grinned at her.

"No problem! Just asking!" Eve looked at me and offered me a smile.

"Hi Cliff! Nice to see you." I smiled back, blushing slightly. Kai noticed and gave me a suspicious smirk. I looked away from Eve and Kai.

"Listen, I got to go. The Seaside Lodge is still open, bye!" Kai ran back to his shop._ Thank Goddess he decided not to taunt me…_ Gray turned to face Eve.

"Sorry about him, I'll explain everything later, but I got to go, too. Mary said that she has a new chapter to her novel, so I'll see you around!" Gray walked away.

Eve sighed, she looked worried. "What's wrong?"

She gave me a half-hearted smile. "Oh, I invited my old friends from Flower Bud to Mineral Town to spend the week. But, I forgot to mention it to Gray…"

I laughed. "How could you not tell Gray?! I'm sure he'll be happy to see them."

She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "Yeah… not likely. Gray… he's not into 'the girls', they sort of intimidate him… and he hates surprises, too. So, the combo of the two isn't any better…"

I shook my head. "Well, if you need any places to hide from him, you know where I am."

She giggled. "Thanks."

"WHY DIDN"T YOU TELL ME THAT THERE WAS A SLEEPOVER AT THE INN TONIGHT?!" Kai screamed at me. I looked at the floor and brushed strands of my hair back with no prevail.

"We could've gotten Gotz to make a peephole or something! But nooooo, all we can do is listen through the wa-all." Kai said facetiously. Then he pondered for a moment. "Maybe Gotz can still make that peephole." So, he ran out the room.

As the door slammed behind him, I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes. But, footsteps were coming up the stairs again. _Ugh… does Kai want to complain some more or does he have some other stupid idea?_

I was shocked to see Eve slam the door behind her. She was scared, almost terrified. Her face was distorted with shock. She was out of breath and was trying to tell me something. "What's wrong? What happened?" I asked, panicked.

She was gasping for air. "Gray… friends… here… help…"

I rolled my eyes. "It can't be that bad." I spoke too soon. I heard Gray yell downstairs.

"EVE!! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" Eve froze up to the sound of his voice.

"Cliff, which one is Gray's bed?" I pointed to the bed next to mine. She ran over to it, got on the floor, and hid underneath it.

"Why hide underneath Gray's bed?"

"Because, well, under Kai's bed is atrocious and you're occupying your bed, so that wasn't an option…" I understood her logic. It was reasonable, but Gray seemed to know where she was going to hide, because he stormed into the room and looked under his bed immediately.

"Get out from under there!" Eve slid out hesitantly. "What were you thinking?! How could you not tell me about them coming?! I-" but he was cut short by a young feminine voice from downstairs.

"Grayway! Where are you?" the voice sang out. Other voices joined in. "Yoo-hoo! Grayway! We missed you! Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Gray groaned and pulled Eve of the floor and then turned to me. "If I have to put up with this, so do you." With that, he yanked me of the sanctuary I called my bed, and forced me down the stairs.

There where seven, giggling, hyper, giddy girls in the Inn. Once they saw Gray, they all screamed. "GRAYWAY!!"

As a group, they ran over and hugged him. Eve laughed her head off at Gray's uncomfortable expression. They all released him when Kai came through the doors.

"Oh, yes! This…" Kai said, smiling at all the girls. "Is a dream come true!"

They all giggled and blushed. _I bet if Kai's self-esteem was crushed by Eve earlier, this made up for it. _Eve grabbed the collar of Kai's shirt. "Hold on there! Let me introduce you to them so that you know their names when you flirt with them."

Kai smiled and rubbed the back of his neck while Eve continued. "The following girls are… Lannie…" a girl with short blonde hair nodded and giggled. "Lynn…" a girl with long dirty blonde hair waved at us. "Shawn…" a rather short girl with dark, brunette hair smiled so big that her eyes closed. "Ethica…" this girl had shoulder length dirty blonde hair and winked at us. "Noelle…" a tanned girl with chocolate hair jumped up and down. "Donna…" a girl with dark brown, almost black hair gave us a huge grin as she bobbed her head. "And Apple, that's her nickname, of course!" a younger girl, about 17, blushed and gave us a shy smile.

Gray looked at each of the girls and slapped his forehead. "Goddess, how am I going to deal with _you all _for a whole WEEK?!"

Ethica came over and slapped his back. "That's ok! You'll make it just 'cause you love us!"

Eve looked around, confused. "Where's Sage?"

Shawn laughed. "Oh, just getting something you might remember…"

"Are we eating here? Because I'm seriously hungry!" Donna asked. Before Eve could answer, yet another girl came in. She was like another Eve. Instead, she had short, light brown hair and a mischievous smirk on her face. Her eyes were a green-grey, too. She held up a DVD and her smirk became a full-on evil smile.

"Who's in the mood for a movie?" Eve looked closely to the DVD and gasped.

"No! Not that! Come on guys!" She pleaded as the rest of the group giggled. Eve gave up and decided to take their minds off of the movie and get some food.

I watched as the girls attacked Eve with questions. "Where's your farm? Do you have any animals? What are you growing? What'd you call the farm? Who are _they_?"

I didn't realize until a few seconds after that the last question was referred to Kai and me. The girls broke away from Eve and surrounded us. Then, we were attacked with questions. Kai handled it all well, being the flirt he is around girls. But, of course, I had to be the one stuttering, stammering, and blushing.

Eve watched with amusement as I tried to talk to them. Finally, she helped.

"Okay girls, let them breathe. That's Kai…" she pointed at him. "And that's one of my really good friends, Cliff."

Ethica laughed. "Back of the hot guy with the ponytail, girls! That's Eve's man!" They all made kissy faces at Eve. Both of us turned bright red. _Wait, why's Eve blushing?!_

Eve looked away, trying to hide… _a smile?! What the hell's going on?! _"I have no idea what you're talking about! Stop!" She begged them.

Sage clapped her hands. "Alright! Let's put our stuff away so we can finally get the sleepover STARTED!" The whole group screamed and ran up the stairs. Sage lingered behind.

"Heed my warning now, Gray." Sage said in a stern voice. "If you, in any way possible, eavesdrop on our sleepover, I will personally make sure that you'll wake up, very confused, in the middle of the ATLANTIC OCEAN. Got it?"

Gray's eyes were widened as he nodded quickly. Sage smiled. "Perfect."

Once she left, I had only one thing to say. "Are you sure they are related?" Sage seemed so much more… threatening.

Gray raised his eyebrow. "You've never seen mad before, have you?" Kai's face brightened up.

"So were still going to listen in?" he asked eagerly. Gray nodded.

"What else are we going to do tonight?" I laughed. _It was going to be an interesting night…_

Once the troop of girls finished their dinners, Gray, Kai, and I sat down to have a few drinks.

"So what do you think, you know, of Eve's friends?"

Kai smirked and laughed. "I'd say she chose some pretty hot friends."

Gray looked at me, but I shrugged. "They could be weirder."

But as soon as I spoke, a round of shrieks filled the Inn, then silence, then a burst of laughter. _Obviously, I spoke too soon… _Gray shrugged. He must be thinking the same thing I was. Kai looked at the stairs as if he was afraid to go up there.

Gray turned to Kai. "I think we better head up for the night." Kai agreed with a smile coming over his face and I just got up from my seat.

Once we were in our room, we raced over to the wall, listening to their conversation. They were already in the middle of one.

"…so do you really think we should ask them to watch?" the giggling voice came from Shawn.

"No! Guys, it was embarrassing enough when… _it _happened to be caught on tape, but now you want to show it to my new friends?!" Eve's voice cried.

"YES!" the whole group answered. We all heard them get up and run to our room. We all ran to our beds, acting as if we heard nothing. They opened the door and pulled us out the door and into the now occupied room. Inside, a TV was set up and eve was looking entirely embarrassed and quite flushed.

Ethica walked in front of the TV and turned it on. She smiled and began her spiel. "Hello! I am Ethica and this is TEV, or Totally Embarrassing Videos: starring Eve, as your totally unexpected heroine! Now please, sit back and relax, then, Gray, lean forward and laugh your head off as you watch this TOTALLY EMBARRASSING VIDEO!"

The movie began; the camera was shaking slightly as the camera person ran. You could hear the person breathing ever so softly. A girl came into the picture, it was a teenage Noelle. She looked about 14 years old. She stared to talk.

"Sage! Sage! Come on!" Noelle turned and ran, with Sage, the cameraperson, at her heels. More girls came into view. It was teenage versions of the young women in the room now. They were all laughing.

"Did you guys hear it?! Oh my goddess! Eve's gonna make them get soooo pissed!" Ethica snickered. Shawn ran over to the group, her face was covered in worry.

"Kurt's really furious! His face was like, red, when I left!" All the girls stopped laughing and ran behind Shawn, shouting for Kurt not to kill her. Shawn updated them as they sprinted.

"Eve told him- Dan wasn't there- that he was a low-life creep and that he should just leave her alone and get off her back. But, no duh, Kurt got really mad."

Finally they arrived at their destination; Eve seemed calm and collected as the so-called 'Kurt' was almost a purple color.

"Who made you the king around here, huh, Kurt? Oh yeah, that's right, can't be the king when you're Dan's shadow, now can you?" Eve kept her voice even and emotionless. She turned around and started to walk away, but Kurt grabbed her arm. She turned; about to slap him, but his face was _a little _too close.

When she turned around, her lips mashed into his, by accident. Eve's eyes were widened with terror; Kurt looked like he was paralyzed. She pushed him of her and turned to the girls, already they were doubling over.

"NO WAY! EWWWWW!! HELP! I NEED SOAP!" Eve screamed and stormed off.

The camera was turned off and the TV was blank. Gray was almost crying, he was laughing so hard.

"You… and Kurt… you two…" he couldn't complete his thought he was laughing so hard. I was shocked; Eve looked disgusted as she watched herself kiss Kurt. I looked at Kai, who seemed confused.

Ethica took the DVD out of the DVD player and pushed us out. "That's all we wanted you to see, good night, aufwiedersehen, adios, adieu, don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!"

The door banged shut behind us, leaving us alone in the hall. Once again, we stationed ourselves in our room against the wall. They were laughing again, this time a real conversation was heard.

"That was cruel, showing me that stupid video!"

"Oh, get over it, Eve, you know we only did it 'cause we love you!"

"Sage, get the present out!"

"What present? Oh, guys, you weren't supposed to get me anything!" Eve's voice complained.

"We're gonna miss you're birthday this year, so ready or not, here ya go!"

Eve shrieked with joy. "You brought me my IPOD! Ohmygoddess! I missed this thing!"

My nose scrunched up at the sound of 'Ipod'. _I don't really like that kind of technology. Never really wanted it, although city children and teens seem to enjoy them… _rapid footsteps were heard. Eve seemed to be hugging all her friends. This made a corner of my mouth rise slightly.

Donna's voice broke the silence. "Hey, what about those two guys earlier? Ohmygoddess, they were sooo cute!"

Kai smiled at hearing this, I just blushed. Ethica must have pushed Sage, because we heard a small 'oof!' and then Ethica's tone.

"I bet Sage didn't even see them once she saw her old beau, Gray!" I looked at Gray, he was a bright pink. Kai slapped his back.

"Why didn't you tell us you already had a girl?" Kai whispered teasingly. Gray punched him. Almost simultaneously, I heard a punch thrown in the next room, followed by a hurt noise that sounded like it came from Ethica. I chuckled, then, continued to listen.

"Truth or Dare, Lannie?" Lynn broke out. _This is where it gets interesting…_

"Truth!" Lannie replied. There was little noise while Lynn pondered.

"Alright… Who was your first kiss from?"

"Easy, Basil." A few 'reallys?' and other questions were transferred. I sighed, because I knew of no one in the town. Kai was the same; Gray listened intently, though.

"Let's go around, when I call your name, answer. Ready? Shawn!"

"Alex!"

"Lynn!"

"Louis!"

"Noelle!"

"Bob, when he was cuter!"

"Okay! Donna!"

"Carl!"

"Apple!"

"Jack!"

"Sage!"

"Blue!"

"Me!" Ethica laughed. "Dan!"

"WHAT?!" Eve shrieked while still laughing. "You kissed DAN?!"

"Well, who was your first kiss from, Eve?" There was total silence. "Apart from that accident, of course!"

I heard Eve sigh. "I didn't kiss a guy yet…" I felt a pang of relief and sympathy. I looked over at Gray, who was emotionless.

"Let's not get all depressed here! Let's keep the good mojo a-flowin'!" Several giggles were heard. Then, the voices hushed to a whisper. I couldn't understand, and neither could the other two, looking at their expressions. I sighed and gave up. I walked to my bed and flopped down on the mattress, Kai and Gray doing the same. I stared up at the ceiling, just for no reason, it was nice not having a lot of things on your mind…

Suddenly, the door to our room creaked open, it was Eve. She was blushing, I didn't know why, but she was. She walked over to the side of my bed. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I am _really _sorry, it's either this or telling Theodore that his hat looks great on him... And that is NOT an option…"

I eyed her face carefully, like she would do in reading someone else's thoughts. "What are you talking about?"

She bit her bottom lip and sighed again. "I'm really, really sorry if this ruins our friendship, but…" I furrowed my brow. _What? Ruin our friendship?_

My questions were answered when she grabbed the sleeves of my shirt and pulled me quickly for a kiss. At first, I felt the urge to get away, but I got over it. She was warm, really warm, almost surreally warm. Even though her fingers, as they grasped my sleeves, were only touching my forearm barely, I was warmed by the contact. A wave of heat seemed to surge through my body. She finally pulled away and looked away from me; my body felt cooler again. She was a deep red. "Like I said… sorry." She faced me again giving me an apologetic smile. "Truth or Dare's a dangerous game?" It sounded like a question, like she was trying to excuse her behavior.

No noise or word could have possibly been uttered from my mouth at that moment. I was paralyzed by her kiss… and her warmth. She seemed uneasy about my lack of words and left with another sorry and good night. I stared at the door for a few more moments and then turned my gaze to Kai and Gray. Kai looked surprised and pleased, Gray… was just shocked. I can't blame him. Watching someone like sister to him just walk in and kiss one of his best friends? Yeah, not that easy.

Kai broke the apprehensive silence. "…Wow. Just… wow. I wish that happens to me daily!"

Gray shook the stunned expression from his face. He gave me a smirk, to my relief. "Nice…"

I felt all the color go to my face, turning it scarlet. Kai ran over to the wall, probably hoping that he was next. Gray and I assumed our positions, also. The game wasn't continuing to Kai's discontent.

"So, how's blending in?" It was Shawn.

"Well, it's really easy, but I'm not that good at talking to people I don't know…"

"Eventually you can find a good place to… you know… right?"

"I hope so, I miss it so much. All the excitement and the happiness of getting the hex right…" _Okay… what? Did Eve just say 'hex'?_

"Listen guys, I really don't want to talk about it now, they might be listening in…" I flinched. _How'd she know?!_

Gray got up and started to get ready for bed. "Why are you getting ready for bed?" Kai asked irritated. "I don't know about you guys, but I just thought I heard Eve say… hex."

Gray rolled his eyes. "I didn't, you're probably just tired and hearing things, Kai. Anyway, their conversations are getting boring, so I'm going to sleep."

Kai sighed. "Yeah, maybe. I'm going to bed, too." I got up and got changed. _No sense in being the only one listening in…_

I fell asleep almost as soon as I hit the bed. I entered a dreamless sleep, quite happy and pleased with how the night went.


	10. Got SeaLegs?

Chapter 10: Got Sea-Legs

**Chapter 10: Got Sea-Legs?**

Last night was so much fun! I got to see my friends again, and that feels great. I needed some girly time, especially from hanging around Gray, Kai, and Cliff all the time. Cliff… -sigh- I know that kiss last night probably freaked him out. I can't believe I did that! He's my best friend, and I just wreaked the whole relationship! I'm still shocked that I listened to them last night…

_"So how about you and Cliff, huh, Eve?" Noelle teased._

_I felt myself blush even more. "He's just my friend guys. That's all!"_

_Ethica snorted -femininely, might I add- "Yeah, right. Didn't you see the shade his face was when I told everyone to back off? I swear, it was like a burgundy!"_

_I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I totally believe you, Ethica…"_

_"Eve, she's not kidding! He really did look like he liked you!" Shawn told me, agreeing with Ethica._

_"Not funny anymore, girls." Seriously, what were they thinking?_

_Donna jumped up and down on the bed. "If you really think he doesn't like you, prove it."_

_Ethica's wicked signature smirk overcame her face. "I dare you to kiss him." Now, all the red from my cheeks was replaced with white. KISS HIM?! ARE THEY FRICKIN' SERIOUS?!_

_"I'll give you the four h's, h-h-h-hell no." I told her. Lannie rolled her eyes._

_"Oh, don't worry. If he doesn't talk to you afterward… well, we'll figure out the details later…"_

_My face flushed again at the thought of …kissing …Cliff. I got up, ready to get it over with._

That was it; my last few moments of being a lip-virgin. POOF! Gone, by kissing my best friend. I started to faze out of my thoughts, returning to the present.

We were at the beach, the girls and me. I was tanning on the edge of the dock next to Lynn. The rest of our group was dunking each others' heads and jumping off the port. I laughed watching Sage gasp for breath after Ethica pulled her under.

I felt so content with all my friends surrounding me. A part of me was tempted to jump into the water, but was then was dismissed by reminding myself how bad a swimmer I was. Water's not my thing, so I stay away from it.

"Mornin'." I heard a familiar gruff voice behind me. I turned to see Gray walking over to Lynn and me. Behind him was a very happy Kai and a very uncomfortable Cliff. I felt bad for him and want to comfort him, but I remembered that I was the one making him uncomfortable. I guess this was my punishment, watching him squirm. As I looked at Cliff avoid my gaze, I began to feel nervous, too. Gray seemed to take notice and started a conversation.

"So, anything going on?"

"Nothing much, you?"

"You know the usual."

Okay, so it wasn't the best conversation in the world, but it relived some of the uneasiness. Kai began to flirt with the girls in the water, not very successfully.

"What's up ladies?" He spoke smoothly. They looked at one anther and giggled. "I see you all will need someone to watch over you while you swim, so Lifeguard Kai is ready to go."

"Cute, really cute. I don't think we need anymore help in the Life-guarding business, Kai. 'Cause…" Ethica inhaled sharply. "I think I have it handled."

"So you think you're a better swimmer than me?"

"Dude, I _know _I'm a better swimmer than you."

"Let's find out then! We'll race, you versus me, and we'll learn who's better fit for the title of **ULTIMATE LIFGUARD FOR LIFE!!!**" He yelled. He finally looked down at his clothing. At last, he realized that he wasn't wearing any swimming trunks. "After a quick change of clothing! Be right back!"

With that said he twisted around and sprinted off of the beach, heading to the Inn. Gray got up from where he was sitting. "We better get changed too, Cliff. Knowing these girls, they'll probably throw us in the water at some point."

"Why, Gray, what would make you think that?" Donna said acting totally innocent. Gray rolled his eyes and walked away, Cliff followed silently. After they were gone, I sighed. I didn't want Cliff to get all depressed about the kiss! If this happens to every guy I kiss, I'm going back to being a lip-virgin…

The girls swam up to the edge of the dock, looking concerned. I knew what was coming.

"What happened last night? You told us you did it, but what did he say?" Shawn asked me, carefully.

I sighed. "Well, I kissed him, that's for sure. But… he sort of, tensed up, and he didn't say anything. He seemed sort of pale, too."

Ethica pondered. She was the one who knew the most about dating, so I trusted her judgment. "What did his face look like? Was it like a shocked look, or a more surprised?"

"I-I don't know… shocked, I guess."

She seemed pleased. "Eve, did you ever think that your kisses may be a little powerful?"

I rolled my eyes. "Mhm, yeah right. That was my first time; I doubt it." I took off my t-shirt to reveal my bathing suit. It was starting to bother me.

"Has he said anything to you since then?" Lynn whispered, afraid to hurt my feelings.

"…No." Although a pang of hurt went through me, I tried to smile for them, to keep them as happy as possible over the short week that we had together. Lynn got up from her seat and slinked into the water as the other girls returned to slashing. Apple, however, got out and sat beside me.

Her face was smiling, but her eyes showed concern. I breathed out a small laugh for her. But, she continued to sit there, waiting for me to explain more. I caved, but not in the way she wanted. "Everything's fine, Apple. I bet after a while, Cliff and I will be talking to each other as usual in no time."

Thanks to my fantastic acting skills, she accepted my lie and jumped back to the water. I lay down on the hot wood of the dock, soaking in the heat from the sun as much as I could. Coldness… that was just something I couldn't stand. So, the sun's rays felt wonderful to my longing skin. My eyes closed, willing to accept a tranquil sleep, but an overly excited voice shattered my doze.

"COWABUNGA!!!!!!" Kai's eager voice thundered against my eardrums. I didn't wince, but open my eyes hesitantly to see him running, then jumping, into the cold depths people called the ocean.

I sat up to see Gray and Cliff walk over. I felt my eyes open wide. _Gray's not so little anymore… _I laughed to myself, remembering Gray and the girls swimming back at Flower Bud back when we were just children. My eyes left Gray and went to Cliff. _Wow… _Underneath the usual tunic he wore was a muscular torso. I shook my head, trying to prevent my thoughts from using the word 'ripped'.

I moved closer to the edge of the dock, allowing my feet to dangle. Gray sat next to me with Cliff at his other side. With no warning or any instructions, the race between Kai and Ethica began.

Ethica floated for a few moments as Kai swam ahead, but then, like a fish that had been away from the water for months, she eagerly swam so fast and so effortlessly past him and stopped. She had a happy grin plastered to her face, while Kai's was total disbelief.

"That was fun! Now what do you want to do?" Ethica swam next to him and circled him, like a shark playing with it's pray. Kai's shocked face changed to a goofy grin.

"I dunno! How 'bout we play Marco Polo?"

A few sure's and okay's were exchanged and the game began. Kai started as IT and said "Marco!" But, his call was unanswered by the girls diving below to hide from his shout. I noticed one eye open, and with annoyance, both eyes were wide open.

"Aw, come on!" A giggle was easily heard beneath the water. _Nice job, Ethica…_

Kai's eyebrows rose, not because he found her, but that the giggle was so clear, as if it was right next to him and not stifled by water. The giggles continued, leaving the three boys confused and astounded. _You're blowing my cover Ethica!_

The giggles stopped abruptly and Ethica came up from the water. Kai almost screamed. "WHAT THE HELL?! What was that?! How'd you do that?!"

Ethica nodded. "Yeah… I can… um, throw my voice!" I almost slapped my forehead; she was such a terrible liar! I thought she would have perfected that lie years ago…

Kai shook his head, but seemed to accept it and the game continued. Hours seemed to fly by as the troop played Marco Polo, Chicken, and a water version of DODGEBALL. I was still sitting on the dock, watching them come out, exhausted and weary. They came onto the dock and started talking about what to do next.

"How about the library? We have a great one in town." I told them as their faces lit up to the sound of the library. They all agreed and we planned to leave in about an hour.

Kai laid back and gave a satisfied sigh. "This is the life, relaxing at the beach with eight girls surrounding me…" Ethica smacked his shin, leaving a bright red hand-shape on it. Kai winced then gave Ethica a small smack on her forehead.

The new war began… again. Slaps and hits were exchanged between the two, and red marks were left behind. Kai suddenly stood up and gave Ethica a small push. Ethica pushed him back, giggling. Kai started losing his balance, and grabbed my shoulder. He accidentally pushed _me _back, and I flew into the cold water below.

Once I fell, coldness enfolded around me, trying to cool my unusually warm skin. This had no prevail, though, my skin kept the chilled water at bay.

The salty liquid filled my lungs quickly when I tried to gasp for air. I felt unconsciousness slowly try to come over me, but a pair of strong arms kept the darkness from my eyes. The arms were obviously not Ethica's, who was the best swimmer out of the group of our girls. They belonged to a guy, but which one? _These aren't Gray's arms… I know his arms, and these are skinnier. Kai… no, not Kai, these don't feel like his arms. Well, I've only met him yesterday, and these arms seem familiar._

Warm air touched my face as the two of us, my rescuer and me. I couldn't open my eyes to see who had helped me. Gravity pulled down on me as the person kept walking out of the water, and then laid me in the warm sand.

"Is she okay?! Goddess, I didn't mean to push her! She was right there, then smack, then whoosh, and then this…" Kai's voice went from loud and frantic to soft and apologetic.

I heard Gray murmur an 'its okay'. A few seconds went by and I heard my rescuer speak. "I'll take her to the Clinic, she inhaled a little water and Doctor Trent should know what to do."

_CLIFF?! CLIFF SAVED ME?! Deep breath Eve, deep breaths… ow, that hurts… short breaths then. But still, CLIFF?! _I felt my skin get warmer as Cliff picked me up. I really hoped I wasn't too heavy... Gray's voice spoke out again. "You sure? I could take her if you want."

"It's okay, she's really light." Yeah, doubt that… He jogged as he carried me to the Clinic. One of my arms, being so very useless and limp, fell and swayed as he ran.

I instinctively placed my hand to my chest, where my gold locket was. It was shaped as a heart that had a small stem at the top of it, so it looked sort of like an apple. Pomme, that was what apple meant in French. You see, that's my name. All of my friends own one of these lockets, and we never take them off, for anything at anytime. We are not only friends, but we are family. Each of us bears the name Pomme; Ethica Pomme-Helen, Shawn and Apple Pomme-Mauve, Lynn Pomme-Ivy, Lannie Pomme-Aves, Noelle Pomme-Serene, Donna Pomme-Dash, and Sage and Eve Pomme. We are the Pomme generation.

After falling unconscious on the way to the Clinic, I woke with a start. Gray was holding me in his arms and yelling at Doctor Trent.

"She doesn't have a fever! What are you freakin' stupid?!" I rolled my head to get a better look at things. My eyes opened wide at the sight of a tub filled with ice. I tugged at Gray's sleeve, trying to get his attention. He looked down at me and a look of relief came over his face.

I got down out of his arms, but held his shoulder to stay up. I felt so cold, so very cold. I was shivering so hard, my hands barely caught the side of Gray's sleeve.

"Look what you did to her! She can barely stand up she's shivering so hard!" Doctor Trent watched me as I shivered, Cliff standing next to him, totally confounded. Gray put me on the bed so that I could sit as I shivered uncontrollably. I finally found my voice, but it was so meek.

"W-W-What h-h-happened…?" My already timid voice shook with the tremors surging through my body. I felt my skin; it was frozen to the bone.

"The doctor didn't know about your, um, _condition,_ so he thought you were burning up with a fever and dumped you into a bucket of ice." Gray scowled at the doctor, who was still staring at me.

I shook my head, which seemed like a nod because of the trembling. "I-I-It's not his f-f-fault, G-G-Gray. I mean, if you s-s-saw someone with over a-a-a hundred degree t-t-temperature, y-y-you would probably dump t-t-them in i-i-i-i-ice." The word 'ice' brought shivers to spill down my spine.

Gray's hard face softened, and he nodded. "Yeah…" I smiled at his apologetic face toward Doctor Trent, who just nodded in return.

Gray went over to the doctor, who wanted to tell him something. Once they left, Cliff walked over to me and gave a few blankets. I thanked him and put them around me, but saved one and held it out to him. "T-T-Thanks for s-s-saving me, C-C-Cliff… Y-Y-You must be c-c-cold, too."

He gave me a confused expression. "What are you talking about? The water was great. I just don't get why you were so hot… you were about 110 degrees! How's that normal to you?"

_Don't blow it, Eve, don't blow it. Lie, tell him something else. Anything but what really is. _"I have a condition where my normal temperature is higher than usual. Like my normal could be 110, while that would be scorching for you."

He nodded as he looked at the ground. "I thought you were really sick…"

It was my turn to look at the ground. "I-I-I didn't m-m-mean to s-s-scare you… S-S-Sorry…" He looked up at me in alarm.

"Why are you apologizing?! I should be the one! I thought that I was the one who got you sick!"

"Y-Y-You? W-Why? Y-Y-You were the one w-w-who saved me from d-d-drowning and you t-t-took me to the Clinic by c-c-carrying me! I bet I w-w-was pretty heavy… I s-s-should be the one to apologize a-a-and thank you!"

"First of all, you were extremely light, it was really easy. Second, no, you shouldn't be apologizing or thanking me. I'm your friend, and that's what we do."

I smiled at him, relieved at the fact that he said we were friends. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and gave him a hug. At first, it seemed to surprise him, but he eventually got used to it and I let go. I gave him one of my warmest smiles and continued to shiver.

Cliff stayed next to me as my shivers died down slowly. Gray came back in the room, looking frustrated. He paced back and forth, pinching the space between his eyes and rubbing his temples. Obviously something was wrong.

"What's the matter, Gray?" My voice no longer shook.

Gray sighed. "Doctor Trent… wants to test you to find out your condition."

I felt my chest tense up. _TEST ME?! No, no, that was not an option. Not at all. He could find out…_

"No." I said, evenly. I had to keep my voice calm in case Cliff got worried. But, he got curious.

"What's wrong with that?"

"He just can't, Cliff. Listen, I think I better head home. The girls are probably worried about me."

Gray nodded and Cliff went along, understanding that I didn't want the doctor to know something, and had to leave without him knowing. We escaped the Clinic without Elli taking notice and ran as fast as we could back to my house.

_I can't keep this a secret… it's too hard… Tonight, I'll talk to the girls. I have to tell them… _

_My secret will no longer be kept locked up anymore._


	11. Little Awkward

**Chapter 11: Little Awkward…**

It's only Summer 4th, and already I'm bored. Usually, I would be in the Church, but because I'm not really -as the others put it- sulking anymore, they say I should be out at the beach or something like that. Well, I don't want to go to the beach, so what else is there to do? I snuck out of the Inn at about 5 in the morning; maybe a walk would give me some ideas.

As I walked, morning dew was just settling on the ground, almost drenching me in the misty crystals. Just being by myself, it was good to think. I was able to focus on what had happened: Eve invited her friends to stay for a week, Gray was mad because of this, Eve was dared to kiss me… she did, the next day, Kai, Gray and I went to the beach –only to find the girls already there, Eve falls in and almost drowns, I get her out at the last minute, get her to the Clinic, she has some sort of 'condition' where her temperature is over 100… _Everything seems to be revolving around Eve, now doesn't it, Cliffy? _… Yeah, it does…

Not that I didn't mind hanging out with her, I really love it… NO WAIT! THAT DIDN'T COME OUT RIGHT! I mean, um, she's really great to hang out with, but I… just can't seem to get her out of my mind after that…

Trapped in my thoughts (_about Eve, might I add…_), I didn't notice someone was up at the same time as me. Finally, I heard a tree shake slightly. It sounded like someone was kicking it. I ran around the curve in the road to see Donna, with her hands held up in fists, punching a tree. I watched her kick, punch, jab, and hit the tree with all of her strength, which actually was a lot of strength.

Donna finally stopped, gasping for breath, and bowed low to the tree. She looked up and saw me. "Good morning, Cliff! Didn't know you got up so early!"

"I don't usually, just need a walk, I guess." She smiled, and then walked over to me.

"I don't know if you saw me, but that was karate."

"Really? I didn't know you knew karate."

"Oh yeah, I've been doing it for years! We all have some talents like that; I have karate, Noelle plays the clarinet, Lynn is a math genius, Ethica swims really fast, Lannie knows every herb, flower, and grass, Sage plays the flute and piccolo, and Apple and Shawn play the violin really well. Eve plays it too, but not as good as Shawn. Eve's real talent is drawing and singing."

"Eve? Well, I could see her drawing, but singing? I never would have guessed." Donna nodded.

"She reminds us again and again that she will not sing in public."

Curiosity was about to make me ask another question, but Donna stopped it. "Do you want to learn a little karate?"

"Me? Do karate? Never really crossed my mind; can I?"

"Sure! I'll teach you as much as I can!"

Our training session began. Hours rolled by as Donna taught me some stances, punches, and kicks. Sweat was rolling down my forehead once it was 8. She told me I had a good stubbornness, the kind where I don't give up on what I'm doing. Donna was a good teacher; she gave examples, showed me what I was doing wrong and corrected me without making me feel stupid, and encouraged me. By the end of the 'lesson', I knew karate pretty well.

I wiped the sweat from my brow with my shirt. "Thanks Donna, that was really cool."

"No prob! Always needed a good sparing buddy!" Donna told me she was meeting Lynn, Noelle, and Lannie in the woods, so she was going to stay. I waved good-bye and headed to Golden Farm. When I arrived, Eve was sitting on the ground, watering some flowers, humming to herself.

Well, it wasn't singing, but it was very beautiful. Eve's humming was very smooth and light, I had to smile. After listening for a while, I decided to remind her I was there.

"Hey, Eve." She didn't hear me, but continued to hum and water. I tried again.

"Eve? Hello?" Still nothing.

"Eve!" She gasped and froze up. Eve picked up something and pressed a button; it was her Ipod. She turned and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, Cliff, you scared me…" She laughed a little. "What's up?"

"So, do you sing a lot?"

Her eyes opened wide. "Oh dear goddess, please don't tell me I was singing aloud."

I shook my head. "No only humming."

She let out her held breath. "Let me guess, one of the girls told you I can sing?" I nodded. "Well, yes, I can sing. But, I don't sing in public."

"Why not?"

"If I asked you to sing in front of everyone in Mineral Town, would you?"

"No, note taken, though."

"Well, why should I?"

"What about friends?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know, would you sing in front of your friends?" She bit her lip. _Gotcha…_

"I have… sung in front of my friends before… but… I don't think I can sing in front of someone… like Gray."

"Why not?"

"I… just can't. I get a little… stage fright." She began to rub her arm nervously.

"Gray is like a brother to you, and you can't even _sing _in front of him?"

She bit her lip again. "Well, I did sing to him before, when I was little. But, it's different now… you know…"

"No, I do not, please explain further." I told her, forcing it out.

"Cliff…" Eve continued to bite her lower lip. I raised my eyebrows, waiting for the answer. "Fine… I just can't sing in front of anyone my age… I can sing to someone younger than me, like Stu or May, but not one older or my age. It's too embarrassing…"

"How can it be embarrassing if you have such a great voice?"

"… Like I said stage fright… Are you done interrogating me now?" Eve asked in a meek voice. I nodded and smiled, which she smiled back.

"Want to go to the beach? Kai's Seaside Lodge in open now." I asked her.

"No, I'm going to the library with Ethica, Shawn, Sage, and Apple. If you want to join us, you're welcome to at any time."

"Sure, I'll meet you there later." She stood up and waved to me as she ran to her house to wash up. I headed to the Inn.

Once I came in, I sat next to Gray. He looked up from a book and mumbled a 'hi' and returned to it. _Mary doesn't lend books to anyone…_

"Where'd you get the book?" I asked trying to look at its open page. Gray pushed it over so I could see.

"It's Eve's picture journal, she doesn't write in a diary, but she draws pictures describing her day."

"Oh, I get it." I stared at her pictures, with disbelief coming over me. They were _amazing._ Each picture was shaded with her pencil. The only picture that was colored was of her surrounded by Gray, Kai, all her friends from her old town, and me. I looked at my 2-D self and then thought of it as a mirror. _Did I really look like that? _Each character was smiling, especially Eve. The drawing seemed so real, I thought I saw Eve's drawn eyes sparkle. Gray saw my face and nodded, agreeing with my thoughts.

"I know; she's amazing. She used to draw little pictures for me when I was little, mostly of books that I read about. She once drew me a picture, it had rolling green hills, and a castle in the distance. I asked her what book it was from, but she wouldn't tell me…" He looked up at the ceiling for a minute, thinking, and then spoke again. "What do you think of Eve?"

_Whoa, not expecting that… _"W-W-Why do you a-a-ask?" My stupid voice shook.

Gray just smirked. "Alright, alright, I guess, I mean, do you want to get back at her for kissing you the other night?"

A blush came over my face, but I thought over the idea. _Get her back? Hmmm… never thought about it… _"What do you have in mind?"

I turned to see Kai standing over us, listening to our conversation, but looking at Eve's drawings as well. Gray explained. "I was just asking Cliff if he wanted to get back at Eve for kissing him the other night."

"Sort of like revenge for humiliating him?" I rolled my eyes at Kai, but maybe one little joke wouldn't hurt…

"I know that look! I just haven't seen it on you before, Cliff!" he said, talking about the smirk that overcame my face. "So, Gray, any ideas?"

Gray smirked. "Yes, yes I do." We all leaned in to hear his whispered voice. Our eyes narrowed and smirks became smiles as Gray told us the plan.

The plan went into action as I went into the Library. Sage and Shawn were chatting with Mary about the novel, Ethica and Apple were trying to get a book on the highest shelf, and Eve sitting in an armchair, absolutely absorbed in the book she was reading. _Step one…_

Kai walked in and gave me a wink, I smiled back. _… In progress. _He went over to Ethica and whispered something in her ear. As I remembered, he told me it would be something like 'nice ass'. Ethica's eyes opened wide, then narrowed and attempted to slap him. Kai dodged it and ran out the door, Apple and Ethica running behind him. …_check._

_Step two… _Gray strolled in and sat next to Mary. He listened to the girls talk for a little. "Oh, I remember why I came in here! Did you hear that Barley's horse just had a foul?"

_…in progress. _All three girls gasped, and then sprinted out, whispering names for the imaginary foul. Gray got up, with a triumphant look on his face, and began to walk out. "All yours, Cliff." _… check._

_Step three… _I started to stride over to the armchair where Eve was reading. I thought about what I was going to say and then began. "Hey, Eve."

… _In progress. _She looked up from her book and smiled warmly. "Hi, Cliff; glad you came."

"I wanted to ask you something recently, but it slipped my mind."

"Sure, ask away." She closed the book, letting her thumb be the bookmark.

"You know how you got dared to kiss me the other night?" A blush spread across her cheeks, but she nodded. "I just was wondering…" I put my face directly in front of hers, my hands on the arms of the chair, preventing her from moving. "What'd you think about it?"

Her face burned now, turning from a light pink, to a scarlet. _Personally, I think it looks good on her, I think she should keep it… And the only way to do that is this…_

I let my face get closer to hers, our noses just centimeters away from each other. Eve continued to let her face burn. "W-W-What a-a-are you t-t-talking about?"

"Oh, I think you know what I'm talking about, Eve my dear." Her eyes widened once I said 'my dear'. I almost laughed out loud, but I remembered Kai explaining how to flirt excessively with a straight face, and let my smirk become a suspicious smile.

She gripped the book, like it was the only thing helping her, but no, I was in total control. I raised one of my eyebrows. I thought of something Kai would do, and let my voice purr. "Well, darling, how was it?" Kai would be so proud!

Eve looked like she was going to faint, but somehow, she slipped through my arms and ran to the door. She turned to me. "I-I-I-I got t-t-to g-g-go! Bye!"

With that she flew out the door as fast as she could, and I just smiled. …_check. _Gray came in, laughing so hard he was crying.

"I-I didn't know y-you had it in you!" he laughed and then went into another fit. Kai, holding Gray's shoulder for support, was also laughing.

"Cliff…" he said straightening up. "I have never been more proud of you now than I have ever been!" He staggered over, still dizzy with laughter, and patted my shoulder.

We all walked back to the Inn, discussing how well the plan had gone over. Kai praised me for the line 'Well, darling, how was it?' and told he that he probably wouldn't have thought of that (which he added later, he probably would have…). Gray thought that I pulled it over well and, if we did it again, he would videotape it.

Next time… yeah, I'll get stared on it. (Mischievous smirk)


	12. Bikinis and Breakups

**Sorry for the wait peoples! Thanks for your wonderfull reviews! Please enjoy...**

**Chapter 12: Bikinis and Break-ups**

BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEE- I turned off the alarm, my head pounding. My unusually small house (really more like a cottage) felt cramped with a total of nine women sleeping in it. I stared at the clock, it took me a few moments to figure out what all the lines put together; it was 7 in the morning. I swung my feet out of the bed, almost hitting Ethica, and skipped my way into the bathroom I just had constructed recently.

I giggled at my messed up hair, but went neutral at my face. _Ugh, why was I cursed with this plain, dorky face?! _My red hair and freckles made a terrible stereotype that I was a nerd, the type who is a genius at math, and sucks at sports (_which I am_…). I mean, if you looked up 'nerd', you'd see a picture of my face! Grrrr…

I ignored my face, and concentrated on brushing my hair. Brush, brush, brush, snag, rip, rip, brush. I continued this awful pattern until my long, curly hair was tamed into a pretty ponytail. I smiled when I bobbed my head and it swished back and forth. Laughing to myself how vain I could be sometimes, I went and got myself dressed to water my crops before the troop woke up.

To my satisfaction, my crops were watered and finished with within about 2 hours. I walked into the town, scanning the stores and streets, hoping to find a friendly face to greet and maybe chat with. Well, I found a face, but not friendly. Ann glared at me as I came into the Inn. _This has got to stop…_

I inhaled a huge gulp of air and blew out loudly, then marched over to Ann with a smile. "Good morning, Ann!"

She gave a small 'humph' and continued to wash the already clean counter. I still smiled as I rolled my eyes. She exhaled sharply and curtly asked me, "What do you want?"

I sighed. "I want to know why you hate me so much."

She hardened her expression. "Because you're hanging out with, Cliff, girlie. He's mine, so back off."

"Well, when I came to Mineral Town, I got lost… at night… without my contacts or glasses." Her eyes opened wide.

"Oh." I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, I was in the Rose Square and I was sitting on the bench, when Cliff came by. He was taking a walk and I called out. He answered and took me home. I hung out with him because he was nice, and I didn't know anyone. I was… pretty scared. If I'd known he was 'yours', I probably wouldn't have, you know, looked so helpless." I looked to the ground at the end. "Sorry, Ann…"

I thought Ann was going to agree with me, but I was incorrect. "Oh, I'm sorry, Eve. I should have gotten to know you first! I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" I looked up and smiled at her.

"Thanks, Ann that means a lot. Friends?"

She gave me a huge grin that made her eyes close. "Friends!"

To my utter pleasure, we chatted for awhile with no yelling or anger involved, just a friendly talk. I checked my watch, it was 12.

"Aw, crap. I got to go home, the girls are probably wondering where I am. Thanks for forgiving me, Ann! I hope you can come over to the farm sometime!" I yelled as I ran for the door. She waved good-bye with a smile on her face, and it was sincere.

As I sprinted down the road, I remembered my mad-dash back home from the library yesterday…

* * *

_My breath was short and quick; I was trying to breathe, but when you're running for your life and you have asthma, it doesn't really work out well._

_I opened the door to my house and shut it behind me, but still held the doorknob as I pressed my back against the wood frame. All the girls were in the house and looked up at me in alarm. I gave a tiny scream._

_They ran over asking me what happened. I told them, thinking they wouldn't believe it, but they did. They almost laughed, but stopped once they saw my face. I was… scared. I had never seen Cliff do that to any girl, not one! So why me…?_

* * *

I shook my head, still unaware of the reason, as I entered my house. Only Ethica and Donna were in the house; they were pulling their hair back into ponytails, and they were dressed for the beach. Donna looked over to me and smiled.

"He-ey! Wanna come to the beach with us?" _Maybe some sun-tanning will make me feel better… _I nodded enthusiastically. Ethica clapped her hands and threw me a bathing suit, more like a bikini.

"Ethica, throw me another bathing suit, you know I don't wear bikinis!" She shook her head and smirked.

"Yeah, right, you've got to look cute if that Cliff of yours shows up!" I rolled my eyes.

"It was probably a trick you guys, something to bug me. I bet Gray thought of it! He knows I hate feeling awkward!" Ethica rolled her eyes at me.

"Sure, whatever floats your boat, just wear the frikin' bikini!" I sighed in defeat and went into the bathroom and got changed. I came out, feeling _expose'._

"Ethica… I hate you." I heard her giggle, but Donna gasped and gave a squeal.

"Oh, Eve! That looks so ADORABLE on you!" I folded my arms over my exposed tummy.

"Guys, seriously, I don't want to walk around like this."

"Why not?" They both wined.

"I feel… … … weird. It's not my type of bathing suit. I don't think my body fits well in a bikini…"

They rolled their eyes. Ethica pointed at me. "Listen, sister, you're skinny. When you're skinny, you flaunt it." She began to walk around and swing her hips smoothly from side to side. "Now, flaunt it."

I laughed as I flung my hips a little too far and too hard. I looked like a penguin! Ethica and Donna laughed.

"Never mind the flaunting, just wear the damn bikini and go to the beach." Donna laughed. I gave up and followed them out, still feeling I should have turned around and hid under my sheets.

Now, instead of me _walking_, they were dragging me to the beach. Yeah, I kind of decided _against _going to the beach and feeling like a slut. The rest of the gang was in the water and having a great time, until they saw us.

"What's going on? What's with Eve?" Shawn asked giving us a weird look.

Ethica dropped my arms, which made my top half fall to the ground. "Oh, she's just being a little embarrassed about wearing a bikini!"

Donna dropped my legs, _leaving_ me on the ground. "Yeah! So we brought her here anyway!"

Shawn laughed and helped me up. "C'mon! You look really good in it, Eve! I don't know why you wouldn't wear it in the first place."

I sighed. "Not you, too…"

I heard a wolf-whistle behind me, I froze up. When my temporary paralysis fazed away, I turned to see Kai's cheeky grin.

"Love the new look Eve, you should wear it more often!" I sighed.

"Thanks, Kai, but I don't think that I'll wear this ever again."

"Awww… I was hoping to get a Christmas card with all y'all in bikinis giving me peace signs!" He said staring off dreamily. Ethica slapped his forehead, Donna punched his arm, Shawn pushed him, and I just watched. Every time one of the girls touched him, it resulted in an 'ow'.

"C'mon! Can't a guy express his love for nine really hot girls in bikinis?" The three replied 'no' and I rubbed my hand over my temple.

"Can we _please _stop talking about bikinis?" I pleaded. Kai smirked, but nodded and began dragging me (_WHAT IS WITH PEOPLE DRAGGING ME AROUND TODAY?!_) to his Seaside Lodge.

"We'll be a minute; we're just getting a few refreshments!" Once the door closed behind him, he began a little interrogation. "Why'd you wear a bikini if you didn't like it?"

I sighed. "Ethica made me wear it 'cause I told her about Cliff yesterday, and she thinks he's flirting with me, and I don't, but she thinks he is and she told me to wear it and flaunt it, but I can't flaunt it, so she dragged me to the beach and then you dragged me here and then this..." I gasped for breath at the end of my explanation. His eyes widened.

"So… you didn't want to wear it?"

I slapped my forehead and let it slide down my face. "No, I did not want to wear the bikini…"

Kai tapped his index finger on his chin a few times and then his face lit up. He shook his head and then smiled at me. "Do you mind going in the back and cleaning it up a bit before I get the food? I need to get something at the Inn first."

I nodded. "Sure, anything." I went to the back and started cleaning as Kai sprinted out the door. _What's he up to now?_

I decided after a few minutes of cleaning that it probably wasn't anything, and continued washing some dishes. As I dusted, I had to respect Kai's hard work that he put into the place. When you first meet him, you might have thought of him as 'lazy', but once you saw how he worked, you could really tell how much he puts into his restaurant. I smiled looking at some of the pictures he hung up; all had just happy people in them. Still staring at the pictures, I didn't realize Kai enter. Finally, I turned to him. I _was _smiling, but when I saw who was next to him, I went pale.

_I hate you Kai… _that was all I was thinking when Kai let Gray and Cliff in. Gray saw me. "Ummmm…"

Cliff's face turned a bright red as he looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. My paled face went scarlet. "I swear I didn't want to wear it, Ethica made me!"

Gray raised an eyebrow. "Ethica?"

"Yes, Ethica, the little brat." I murmured the last part under my breath and folded my hands over my tummy (_which was exposed…_). The entire time, Kai watched Cliff with an amused expression on his face, like a little brother who just got his sister to eat a worm. I sighed. "I give up. Kai just go make the food, I'll be outside with the girls."

I ran past Gray and Cliff as fast as I could before otherwise and went out to the dock. "Someone give me a freakin' towel before I beat Ethica."

"Why me?!" She shrieked.

"Because of you, I had to wear a bikini. Because I wore a bikini, Kai had an idea. Because of his idea, Gray and Cliff saw me in this thing!' I said referring to the bikini. Ethica rolled her eyes and floated on the water.

"So sue me. You look fine, Eve." I groaned and sat at the end of the dock, pouting. Donna got out of the water and walked around in her sports bikini.

"See? There's nothing bad about this!" I rolled my eyes.

"That's because it works on you. Bikinis just aren't my bathing suit. Now, can we just drop it?"

The girls rolled their eyes, but stopped talking about it to my relief. A perky ring tone filled the air. Dodo-doda-dododo-dodo-doda-dodo- Ethica picked up her cell phone and answered it. She walked away, chatting.

I laid back on the dock, soaking up the sunlight. Someone sat next to me, I sighed. _What now?!_

I opened one eye, it was Cliff. He was smiling at me, I sat upright. "Can I help you?"

"Nah, just nice knowing that you're not freaked out about yesterday."

"What _was_ with the sudden huge burst of confidence?"

He shrugged. "Guess I grew up."

"I don't know-" I was cut off by an unexpected cry; it was Ethica. I got up and turned to see her bawling. All the girls got out of the water as we rushed to her side.

"He… jerk… I… hate… loser…" She blubbered. I looked up at the other girls.

"I can handle it, girls, you can go." They all nodded and understood as they returned to the dock. Cliff stayed behind; his face was covered in confusion.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I-I was d-d-dating t-this guy from F-Forget-Me-Not Valley, his name was…" she hesitated, a twinge of pain seemed to shiver through her as she said his name. "Rock… h-he j-just called me a-a-a-a-and BROKE UP WITH ME!" she wailed.

I made a sound of disgust. "Breaking up over the phone?! Who the hell does he think he is?!" I felt blood come to my face. Ethica's eyes widened.

"Calm down, Eve, calm down…" I sighed.

"Sorry, just pisses me off… I told you he was worthless, remember? Right after you told me that you guys were going out I said 'Ethica, he's a player, and he'll just end up hurting you.' But nooooo, you won't listen to me…"

Ethica smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, you did. You always know when a relationship's gonna tank."

Kai came over. "What happened?" His raised his eyebrows at Ethica's tear-stained face.

Ethica closed her eyes as tears came back. I looked up at Kai. "Her jack-ass, player of a boyfriend just broke-up with her on the phone."

"Aw, that sucks. Some guys are just too weak to break up with a girl in person…"

He said, shaking his head. He got down and sat next to her. "Who's the fat head?"

Ethica managed to breathe out a laugh. "Rock."

Kai's eyebrows rose again. "Rock?! You went out with Rock?! Don't you know he already has a girlfriend, Lumina? Yeah, he always cheats on her, but she never finds out. That's why he dates fast, and ends it fast, so Lumina doesn't know."

Ethica's jaw dropped as she turned and stared at me. "You… You were right! You said you had a feeling he was cheating on me!"

I shrugged. "Lucky guess."

Kai gave Ethica a smile. "It doesn't matter now; he messed up a good relationship with a great girl."

Ethica blushed and I pulled Cliff away. "Hey, what are you doing?!" Cliff asked as I dragged him.

"Isn't it obvious that they need some alone time right now?"

He looked back and saw Ethica lean her head against Kai's shoulder. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I looked past the two and over at the entrance to the beach. "I think I might head home soon."

"Why now?" Cliff asked.

"I don't like the beach that much, remember the other day? I almost drowned?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… So, you don't know how to swim?"

"Never have, never will!"

"Why don't I teach you?"

I felt a blush spread across my cheeks. "I-I don't know, I don't really go well with water…"

He tilted his head to the side. "What?"

"I don't understand either, it's just that… water and I shouldn't be put together…"

He shrugged. "Okay, if that's what you want."

"How about we go to Mother's Hill? I always love a nature walk!"

He smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great."

"Great then," I got close to his face, our noses barely touching each other. His face went from relaxed, to awkward; a deep crimson blush spreading across his cheeks. I whispered ever-so-softly, "It's a date."

_Step one, check. Step two, check. Step three, in progress…_

**Mwahahahaha! Evil Eve! This is gonna be fun... ;**


	13. Not Bad

**Dedicated to Bubblewing-luvs-anime!**

**Chapter 13: Not Bad**

_Stupid, freakin' hairs… stay down! _I mentally yelled at my unwilling-to-obey-orders strands of hair. Date… Eve called it a date… WELL, IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S REALLY A DATE! IT'S NOT I MEAN, C'MON?! A DATE?! HEHehehe… I'm not convincing am I?

I looked at my reflection in the dirty mirror -which we really need to clean. Everything seemed wrong about… everything! I sighed. I probably sound nuts. I took one more glance into the mirror, but sped out before I could find another problem.

Everyone was still at the beach as far as I could tell. No one had crossed my path when I walked by Golden farm. _That's good… more time alone with Eve…_ You know, I don't hate that voice in my head; I loathe it.

Trees flew by me as I jogged to Mother's Hill. I looked up at the sky, just letting myself relax for a few moments, but her voice brought butterflies back to my stomach. "Hey, there you are! I was wondering if you were coming!"

My eyes drifted away from the sky to Eve's face. She was giving me one of her award-winning smiles. I smiled back, hoping she was thinking the same about mine. "Sorry about that…"

She walked over to me and put her hand in mine, beginning to yank me to the top of the hill. "Let's go already!" She laughed.

Her hands were so small compared to mine. But, how could something so small make me feel so warm? Just the friendly contact sent waves of heat shooting up my spine, directly to my face, turning it to a light shade of pink. Eve kept trying to pull me harder, but her smaller frame prevented her from moving me any faster than what I was going; I had to laugh.

"What's so funny?" She asked me. I guess she didn't realize it.

"You're just trying to pull me along. It's not working well." She smiled again.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't be as strong as you." She laughed. I started to speed ahead of her, which made me pull her along.

"H-Hold on! I can't r-run as fast as you!" I laughed as her expression went from cool and collected to surprise. She stumbled as I dragged her along, getting faster with every step.

Finally, we made it to the top. It was a nice day, the sky was spotted with random clouds, but the blue still lingered among it. I stopped pulling her and just stood there, just… happy to be there at that time. Eve let go of my hand and ran ahead to the peak of Mother's Hill. "It really is beautiful up here…"

"Yeah…" I whispered. I walked ahead to where Eve was standing. She was looking at the view laid out in front of us. Her face was covered in awe; I silently chuckled at her façade. She looked like a little girl who just saw real magic.

She turned away from the vista and looked at me. "What was with you yesterday? You know, at the library?"

_Whoops, not expecting that… _"I-I… ummm… well…." I stuttered. For the first time, I saw her smirk; it looked exactly like Sage's.

"So," she tilted her head slightly and held her hands in front of her, like a little schoolgirl. "What did _you _think of the kiss?"

My face paled. _Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap- wait! I got and idea! _"I'm sorry, but I think I asked you first…"

"No, no, that would spoil the fun; I'm waiting for your answer Cliff…"

"Ah, ah, ah, ladies first."

"I-…" she paled a moment. _Yes! She's got nothing else! I WIN!_

"Now, what is it, Eve darling?"

She bit her bottom lip and looked at the ground. "Cliff… why are we doing this?" _I have no idea, but I definitely know that I'm winning! _"Listen, maybe we should forget the kiss… When something bad happens, you need to remember it, to learn from it. When something that isn't bad, but merely changes something, you can forget it. And let me tell you now…" she looked up from the ground. "That kiss was **not **bad."

My eyebrows raised and my jaw fell. A smile wanted to escape on my lips, but I held it back. _SHE LIKED IT! SHE LIKED IT!_

Her face turned pink as she saw my expression. She looked back at the landscape, still blushing. She sat down on the edge of Mother's Hill, and I followed shortly after. It seemed surreal, that she would have liked the kiss. It… was unexpected, but great. More than great, it was one of the best things to ever happen to me!

Still in my happy place, Eve's head fell against my shoulder. I looked at her and laughed quietly at her sleeping face. I looked closely, she seemed different when she was sleeping, and then it me. Eve looked younger when she was sleeping. All the troubles, burdens, and responsibilities of being a farmer were lifted off of her when she slept. I felt my face soften, and then it went back to shocked when I heard a camera flash.

I turned to see Ethica holding up a camera. She put it down from her face slowly. "Sorry… couldn't resist… You two look too cute together!"

I rolled my eyes. "What are you doing up here?"

"It's five and we were wondering what happened to you guys."

"So you came with a camera…?"

Ethica smiled sheepishly. "We thought you guys were making out, so I brought the camera to have black mail, or a photo for her wedding…"

I airily laughed. Ethica sat next to Eve's dozing body. "Is she asleep? Wow that's the earliest she been asleep all week!"

"Why's that?"

"Oh, she's a host She wants everyone to be happy, when it's time for bed she asks if everyone has blankets. If someone says they don't, she gives them hers and finds another if there is any left. It bugs us to death when she ends up sleeping on the floor because there's not enough room on a bed or couch…"

I looked at Eve. Her breath was even and long, like double my breaths. Ethica looked at the landscape. "I'm glad eve came here, its better off."

My eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, she didn't tell you? Dan, the childhood bully, that Dan?"

_Bully? _"No, what did he do?"

"Terrorized Eve most of the time. He always had something to say about her, and it was nothing good. That's probably why she's so self-concious today, because of that jack-ass…"

Eve mumbled something, making Ethica laugh. I couldn't hear it, but let it go. Ethica stood up. "Well, we better get home, it's getting late."

"Yeah, I'll carry Eve." I picked her up bridal style. I thought back to the day in the Clinic. _"Y-Y-You? W-Why? Y-Y-You were the one w-w-who saved me from d-d-drowning and you t-t-took me to the Clinic by c-c-carrying me! I bet I w-w-was pretty heavy…" _How could she think she was heavy? She's skinny and on the shorter side, what could've made her think that? … Dan.

I came inside the house with Ethica. No one else was there. "Where's all the others?"

"We were going to go to the bar at the Inn tonight and I told them I'd met them there with Eve. But, I think I'll just grab them and bring them back home. Eve needs some sleep."

I lay Eve down on the bed. Ethica grabbed a blanket and flew it over her. "Now who has to have a blanket?"

I looked around the house. She really cleaned it up! It looked like a little cottage, large enough for 1 or 2 people, but definitely not 9. I shook my head. _Why she didn't stay at the Inn, I don't know…_

I started to walk out, but Ethica stopped me. "Hey, Cliff?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking care of Eve, she thinks that she can take care of everything, but some stuff seems to slip out her hands. She's an adult, but not by much, she turned 21 and going on 22, but she's not 30. So, remind her to relax a little, will ya?"

I nodded. Eve did act more mature for her age. "I will, good night."

"G'Night!"

I walked out to find that the sun went down and dusk was settling on Mineral Town. Going to the Inn right now would be stupid, so I decided to take a stroll around.

Time to myself, just to think. It was good, sort of relaxing, that's definitely something I need right now. I was ecstatic that eve actually _liked _the kiss, but it hurt too. Money… that was always a problem that came up in my life as a wanderer. I didn't have a lot of it left, and that meant… I had to leave. Leave the Inn; leave my two best friends and roommates, leave Mineral Town … leave Eve.

I winced at the thought. She was someone I could talk to freely and she had become one of my best friends in a matter of weeks. It hurt, the thought of leaving now, I had just begun to live a life here, and I didn't want to leave, but where would I go?

I looked at my money and I guessed I could only stay here for a few more weeks, maybe until the middle Fall, but that's if I'm careful with spending. A job, how could I get a job? I couldn't think of any places to work. Every place in the town seemed to be handled, that meant no vacancy for employment…

_This sucks! First, you find a pretty girl. Second, she kisses you. Third, she tells you she liked it. Finally, YOU LEAVE HER!!! _I winced again, like I was getting scolded. But, it was true. Sometimes, you just have to hate the truth.

I found myself in front of the Inn. Not a noise came from the inside, so the girls must have left. I entered, feeling a little depressed. Ann gave me a wave, but no annoying questions followed after. _Good, I'm not in the mood…_

I went into my room, Gray or Kai wasn't there; just me. I slinked into my bed, ignoring the fact that I was still wearing my clothes from today, and tried to sleep. But, like me and Eve, sleep left me.


	14. Beach Day 2

**Chapter 14: Beach Day #2**

Last night, I remember falling dead asleep against Cliff's shoulder. After that, I did nothing but listen and breathe. I heard Ethica tell Cliff about Dan, I heard her tell him to take care of me, and I heard Cliff agree. I felt so loved!

I can't imagine having better friends… the girls from Flower Bud helped me trough those awkward teenage years into the person I am now. Gray protected me against Dan as best he could and wiped my tears away when I was a child. Kai kept me on my toes and made me feel girly and pretty. Cliff… he's just one of the best friends I've ever had. Thanks to him, I felt at home in Mineral Town. Now, Mineral Town is my home.

Sunlight sprayed against my face in the morning. I felt no rush to get up; it was surprisingly tranquil this morning. I got out of the bed I had been sleeping on and got dressed in my usual attire, light blue plaid shirt with dark jean Bermudas. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and headed out.

When I came out, the girls were sitting around the tree, each with a book in hand, reading. I walked over. "Hello."

They looked up and smiled. Sage got up and stretched. "Morning sis! We already watered your crops for you!"

I felt appalled. "Wow, thanks girls! Why'd you do that?"

Lannie looked up from her book again. "Oh, you looked exhausted, so we thought you should sleep in."

I smiled warmly. "You guys are awesome."

"Yeah, we know!" Shawn said, smiling so large her eyes squinted shut.

I climbed the tree and sat on a branch. "What do you guys want to do today? This?" I asked looking at their books. "Because that's sounds great to me."

"Oh, no. We were going to go to the Church today. Lynn met carter yesterday and told him abut our musical abilities." Noelle made her arms wave up and down when she said 'musical abilities'.

Lynn laughed. "So, he wanted to hear us play."

"But, what about our instruments? I don't have my violin."

Shawn waved me off. "Silly, I brought it along with me. All of our instruments are in the house!" I screamed.

"Why didn't you tell me? I missed playing my violin! I really wanted to fiddle the other day…" Shawn laughed.

"Okay, it's about 9 right now, so let's head down." Lannie said getting up.

We all walked into the house and grabbed our instruments. I held my violin case in my hand as I opened the door for everyone to leave. Shawn and Apple had their violins, Lannie and Sage had their flutes, Noelle had her clarinet, Ethica had her cello, and Donna walked out with a little baton (she was going to keep time).

We walked down the roads as fast as we could, as soon as we're done; we were going to have just a relaxing day at the Hot Springs. I opened the door to the Church and Carter greeted us. "Hello girls! Thank you for coming."

"Oh, no problem Carter, happy to do it." I said.

We took out our instruments and began to play. The notes flew off of the instruments and filled the air. I smiled as I played. Playing the violin felt great, like I achieved something in life. I looked around; the group seemed to be happy. Whole notes began to appear on the page and I used my vibrato. I listened to Shawn and apple, they were _amazing_.

We ended the piece and Carter clapped for us. "That was beautiful girls! I'm sure the Harvest Goddess is quite proud of you."

Shawn, Sage, and Apple went and talked to Carter for a few minutes as the others put their instruments away. I walked over to a stain-glass window of the Harvest Goddess. She was really beautiful. I smiled at her soothing 2-D counterpart and turned around to hear my name. "Eve! We're heading to the Hot Springs now! C'mon!"

I followed them out, but not without turning back to the window and whispering. "Thank you, Harvest Goddess, for everything."

I could have sworn, for just a minute, that the stain-glass Harvest Goddess smiled at me.

We arrived at the Hot Springs, ready to relax in our bathing suits. Quite pleased, I had managed to wear a tankini without Ethica noticing. When I dipped myself into the hot water I felt soothed. There's a difference between the Hot Springs and the ocean, ocean cold and deep, Hot Springs warm and shallow.

I put my head under the water, utterly lightened up by the refreshing dip. The others came in slowly, uneasy about the heat of the water. I laughed as Ethica burned her finger and popped it into her mouth. She gave me a glare and slashed water onto my face. Personally, it felt great, but then again, because of my _condition_, I would always think that anything but what 'normal' people considered hot to be wonderful.

Once they finally settled in, we discussed about the upcoming seasons and festivals I would be missing in Flower Bud.

"Oh… you'll be missing the fireworks with us!" Shawn realized, almost wailing.

"Its okay, Shawn! Besides, you need to go out with a guy. A good guy, pick a good one." I told her popping up and down in the soothing waters.

"Yeah, but we'll miss you anyway!" Donna said with mock tears forming in her eyes. I laughed.

"I know, I know, you love me!" I yelled throwing my arms in the air, splashing the group with tiny droplets. They all shrieked and giggled. I put my hands down and gave them a sincere smile.

I really was going to miss them. I'd probably see them again in the Stocking Festival in the Winter. I wouldn't see them for about two seasons, and I was so accustomed to seeing them everyday, almost 24/7! I was spoiled…

"So… two more days huh?" Apple said looking down, trying to smile. I patted her back.

"It's okay, we'll have as much fun as we can now, and I'll…" I sighed and gave them a smile. "I'll see you in two seasons."

"Let's go to the beach, I'm getting hot in here…" Ethica wined. Everyone started getting up as I sighed.

_Two seasons… I have to wait two seasons. _"Eve? You coming?" I looked up at Apple. I nodded and got out, refusing to let the truth put a downpour on my two day with them.

Gray was pushing Kai into the water (for who knows what reason… do you need a reason?) and Cliff was watching from the safety of the wooden frame of the Seaside Lodge. He turned and saw us coming. "Hey girls!"

They all gave a few 'hi's' and ran to Kai's aid, pushing Gray into the water, but then deciding Kai deserved it too. I laughed watching Kai's smug façade turn to shock from a shove from Ethica. _I swear, they are made for each other!_

I sat down in front of the Seaside Lodge and leaned onto the painted wood. Cliff looked down and smirked at me, I gave a smile back. "So, what's up?"

"I think that we'll be staying in the Inn tonight. Last night seemed pretty cramped…"

He tilted his head to the side. "I thought you were asleep."

"I woke up later in the night; I had to make sure that everyone was okay."

Cliff rolled his eyes. "You try to please people too much; just let them fend for themselves."

I shook my head. "I guess my motherly instincts kicked in a little too early…"

"Maybe you should-"

"_Thanks for taking care of Eve, she thinks that she can take care of everything, but some stuff seems to slip out her hands. She's an adult, but not by much, she turned 21 and going on 22, but she's not 30. So, remind her to relax a little, will ya?_" I said, my imitation of Ethica practically perfect.

"That was really good." He praised me. I shook my head, laughing.

"I get it, but it's not something that'll just go away. I'm just naturally over-caring. Not my fault, it's my parents, blame it on them." I got up and walked away, still laughing.

I came over to the giggling group of girls in the water. "Hey Eve!"

I saw Gray ringing out his hat. "Hey, how are you Gray?"

"I'm doing fine, but Gramps still hates everything I do…"

I smiled. "Don't worry, he's only picking at you because he thinks you have potential. Why would he pick at you if you were bad? If you did something, he would praise it and tell you what's wrong with it later. Because you so good, he finds the bad things in what you do so you can fix them to perfect them."

He raised his eyebrow and blinked a few times. I sighed. "Guess you still don't fully understand Eve logic…"

He smiled. "Sure I do it's just…"

"It's just that you still don't get it."

"…Yeah."

"Who does?"

"You?"

"Pft, yeah right!" He laughed.

"Oh, I remember why I came over here! Girls, were probably staying at the Inn tonight, is that okay?"

Kai popped up from underwater. "Yes! Yes! A thousand times YES!"

Ethica pushed him back under. Shawn giggled. "I guess we'll be staying at the Inn tonight!"

I nodded and started to head for the Inn. _I wanted to warn Doug. _I heard someone behind me; it was Cliff. "You coming along?"

"What else am I going to do there?" I heard Cliff say behind me. I stopped and waited for him to catch up. He walked next to me for the remainder of the stroll.

When we came in the door, Ann ran over to us. "He-ey!"

I gave her a hug. "Hi, Ann, we wanted to know if there was a room we could stay in tonight, for the girls and me."

Ann nodded. "Yup!"

"Do you want to stay with us tonight? It'll be cramped, but it'll be fun!"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well… maybe I will… Sure! Sounds like fun!"

I smiled. Ann bounded away, finishing up the remainder of her chores. I looked over at Cliff, who didn't say anything the whole time. I laughed; his jaw had dropped. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"That! I thought that Ann hated your guts!"

"Used to. I told her that I wasn't trying to steal you from her, but trying to make friends with people. She totally understood, she's a very forgiving person."

His head titled. "Ann? Forgiving?"

I shook my head. "You just have yet to see the very best in some people…"

Now, he was confounded. His brows knitted in concentration and his head tilted to the other side. I laughed. "I'm going to see if Ann needs any help, you can head to the beach."

"You sure?"

"Have fun! I don't like the beach, so you go enjoy yourself." He smiled.

"Fine, I'll see you later." He said, jogging out the Inn.

I walked back to the kitchen to find Ann washing some dishes. I stood next to her and began washing a plate. She looked up at me. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you with chores so you can have nothing to do later at the sleepover to prevent you from doing a dare." She laughed.

"Oh, well! I'll think of something later! Hey, you want to get changed first?" I looked down; I was still wearing a bathing suit.

"Be right back!" I ran home, got changed, and ran back to help with the rest of the chores.

Ann and I talked about Mineral Town traditions, festivals, and other things that went about. She warned me about Manna, Sasha, and Anna with their gossip club. She told me about the legend of the Kappa in the lake. She even warned me about Karen's cooking!

Soon it was 8, and the rest of the girls came in, quite tired from their day at the beach. They got over it after eating some of Ann's cooking and we headed upstairs, ready for the _real_ fun to begin.


	15. Maid Service!

**Chapter 15: Maid Service!**

My jaw dropped; Kai seemed so pleased with himself. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… let me get this correct." I said shaking my head. "You bet Ethica that if she didn't get the snow-cone flavor right, that you could use _all the girls_ only once as a…"

"Maid service, that's right. Cliff, my friend…" he sighed and put his arm around my shoulder. "You must try to understand… women were put on this earth for a reason-"

"Okay, I've heard enough!" I yelled, interrupting his explanation. I looked at Gray; he was trying not to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"I'm just trying to picture Eve's face when she gets the news." I tried to imagine it and started to chuckle, too. Kai got up from his seat.

"You mean Eve doesn't know yet?" Gray and I nodded. He began to sprint up the stairs, saying something about 'having to see her get the news'. Gray and I followed.

We leaned against the closed door that was their rooms. Ethica was just about to tell Eve. "Eve, I have some bad news…"

"Mhm, did you set my barn on fire?"

"What? No! Not on purpose…" Ethica said giggling, but then came back to the seriousness. "You see, it's all really funny. Kai bet that I couldn't guess what flavor a snow-cone was and, this is the funny part, he won so we are his maid service for the night?" Her voice got higher with every word and the statement became a question. There was dead silence.

Eve's voice broke the tension. "What?"

"Hehehe…" Ethica chuckled unenthusiastically.

"You have five seconds…" Eve said evenly in her smooth voice. "To run like a bat out of hell with the demon on its tail."

I felt my face pale. "One…"

**WHAM!**

The door flew open and smacked all of our faces as Ethica sprinted down the steps, screaming. A few silent moments passed as the three of us rubbed our sore noses until…

**SHOOM!**

Eve flew down the stairs like she didn't even touch the steps, chasing Ethica. I looked at Gray and saw that Kai was giving him the same 'What the hell?' look.

Gray shook his head and laughed. "You haven't seen the worst of Eve. See, the thing is… when Eve gets mad…" He gave us a serious look. "She gets mad."

Kai began putting a defensive hand to his throat. I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm going to check and see if Ethica is still alive."

I walked out of the Inn to see Ethica coming down the road. She had a smile on her face as she waved as I passed her by. I wondered, "_What happened to Eve?_"

Then, I saw her sitting outside of the entrance to Golden farm. I sat next to her. Her face was cupped by her hands that were resting on her knees. Her usually smiling face was neutral due to being in thought. I started to talk. "Hey."

"Hey." She still looked at the ground. I felt concern mask over my face.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's absolutely nothing. Don't worry about it."

I laughed airily. "Amazing, you coax peoples' thoughts right out of them, and yet you keep people away from yours."

She gave me an extremely weak smile, but it seemed to be her best. I felt the concern deepen on my façade. "C'mon Eve, you know you can tell me…"

She covered her face with her hands. "Yes, of course I can. But, there's nothing to tell. I'm just exhausted…" She let one hand slip from her face while the other held her head up. What was interesting is that the hand that fell didn't go to the ground, but to her chest, on a locket.

"What's that?" I asked pointing to it. She waved it off.

"Oh, nothing. I'll tell you later, but let's head to the Inn." As she got up, I couldn't help but notice how really tired she was. Eve definitely wasn't lying when she said that she was exhausted. I got up and followed her back.

Kai sat in his bed shaking his head with a satisfied look on his face. "I love being me…"

Most of the girls were off doing chores downstairs like cleaning his clothes (poor Ethica and Noelle…), baking him snacks (I think Sage might poison them…), and applying themselves for the unknown journey to **CLEAN UNDERNEATH HIS BED**. I visibly shuddered at the thought which gave me a weird look from Ann.

Yes, they invited Ann to stay the night with them. But, to bear her the horrible and sickening things, they didn't let her be one of Kai's maids (to Ann's obvious relief). Instead, she, Gray, and I watched the troop of girls make their way to the bedside. Eve shrugged her shoulders and dove under. A few seconds rolled by. "Do you think she's dead?"

Shawn looked at Lannie. "…maybe…"

Finally, Eve's small hand came out from under the bed. In it held a Nintendo DS. "I was looking for that!" Kai said, plucking it from her hand.

"Help… oh, goddess! Ewewewewewewew! Help! Help!" I heard Eve shout. Shawn held her breath and looked under. Her face turned a little green.

"Aw, I think I might puke…" Shawn shook her head, trying not to. Eve's head came out from under the bed. Her face was covered in dust, but she wiped some of it away with the back of her hand.

"Girls, I need gloves, rags, wipes, trash bags, a doctor's mask, goggles, and freshening spray NOW." Some girls ran to get her needs, but one stayed behind.

"Is it really that bad?" Lynn asked Shawn and Eve. They looked at each other and then nodded at Lynn, who ran down the stairs once she understood. Eve turned to Shawn.

"There is no way that you're going down there. I'll go under; you give me what I need, got it?"

Shawn saluted her. "Yes Ma'am!"

"Good, let's get to work."

The girls came upstairs with Eve's essentials. She got to work immediately. She put on the mask, goggles, and gloves and slid under. Ann winced, I guessed she was imagining going under there herself. Gray shook his head; he was probably dismissing the idea of going under to see for himself. Looking at their reactions, I prevented thinking about it myself.

Minutes rolled by and Eve was still going. So far, she had emerged only once, but only to throw some dirty underwear at Kai. She went under as fast as she could to continue, now referred to as, 'the mission'. Finally, we heard Eve give a triumphant sigh and appear from under the bed. She had a smile covering every inch of her dirty face.

"Mission accomplished!" The girls clapped as Eve took a bow. Kai got up from Gray's bed he was sitting on.

"I'll be the judge of- HOLYCRAPSHEDIDIT!" Kai screamed the jumbled mess as he stared in disbelief that underneath his bed was completely clear of any dust or clutter whatsoever. Eve patted his shoulder.

"Mess it up and I'm never ever, EVER going to talk to you again." Kai nodded and continued to stare at the cleanliness that used to be the filth under his bed. Eve took off her doctors' mask and inhaled a deep breath.

"I never thought I would be able to breathe again." She laughed. Ann came over and looked under the bed.

"Very nice… I owe you one, Eve!" Eve waved it off.

"Nah, it's a gift for all of us."

"Hey, guys? I'm starving; let's go see if Sage's done with the cookies!" Eve said. Everyone cheered and ran down the stairs. Kai pouted.

"Can't believe she did it…" I chuckled as he gave me a childish scowl.

We went downstairs to see everyone crowding around a plate with cookies on it. Sage had a smile on her face as they all grabbed the baked goods from one another. Eve came over to me and handed me a cookie.

"I got you two a cookie, they're going fast."

I took one and Kai took the other, then he exchanged glances between me and Eve. "I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!' he said giving me a wink and walking off. I felt my face turn red. Eve laughed and shook her head.

"Can you believe these guys? I mean…" she continued to giggle. I rubbed the back of my neck, nodding. _You have to tell her now, tell her you have to leave before it's too late!_

Eve looked up and smiled at me. _I can't do it… (Wimp…) I'm not a wimp! I just can't tell her now! Her friends are here and she won't see them again for awhile, so I can't._

Eve's eyebrows pulled together. "Something on your mind, Cliff?"

"Uh, no! No, I'm fine, just daydreaming a bit."

She smiled again. "Nice to daydream once in awhile, huh? Just to get away from it all." I nodded.

"When are the girls going back to Flower Bud?"

"Oh, they're going home tomorrow, actually." She looked at the ground and sighed. "Well, at least I'll see them later during the Winter, right?"

I smiled. "Yeah." Eve smiled back, but then walked over to some of her friends who were arguing who could eat the most cookies. Kai came over to me.

"…That was pathetic." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah and?"

"When you want a girl to like you, you flirt with them! That, my friend, wasn't flirting." Kai explained. I looked at him.

"Maybe I wasn't trying to."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Dude, it's obvious that you like her, FLIRT ALREADY!"

I took a bite of my cookie. _Hey, these are really good. _Kai threw his hands up in defeat. I smirked.

I looked around the room: Sage was yelling at Gray, Gray was yelling at Sage, Kai was flirting excessively with Noelle, Lannie, Lynn, and Ethica, and Ann was telling a joke to Eve, Shawn, and Apple. Eve walked over to me again and pulled me over to the table where Ann was telling her jokes. Ann was standing up, using her arms to draw the scene out for us. I laughed as she had Eve stand up with her and act it out. I felt happy for Ann, that she was easily accepted by Eve's group of girlfriends.

I took another look around the Inn; I smiled. I may not be here in Mineral Town forever, but I'm here now.


	16. Tears and Presents

**Chapter 16: Tears and Presents**

_Okay… now. Go tell him; go tell him what you are. Tell him what you are… __But what if he doesn't talk to me anymore? __It doesn't matter now, because you didn't TELL HIM! __I can't what if… what if he runs away? _

I closed my eyes and sighed. I hated the idea of Cliff running away from me because of… who, actually, _what _I am. Warm, chocolate brown eyes; they really were warm. Even though my 'condition' made things feel cool to the touch, his eyes seemed to warm me up… WHAT AM I SAYING?! HE'S MY BEST FRIEND!!

I sighed again and looked at the clock; 1 in the morning, in only five hours, my friends would have to leave. I turned my gaze over to them as they slept. Their bags were already packed and ready to go, which made me have a bittersweet smile cross my lips.

Once they left, I wouldn't see them for about two seasons… at least I have Cliff and Gray, because Kai is leaving in a matter of weeks. Well, if I told Cliff about me, I may have only Gray… I shook my head, trying to think of positives.

I laid my head back down on my pillow and shivered, although I wasn't cold. I felt… lonely. I closed my eyes and reminded myself that Gray wouldn't leave me, he knew what I was. For years now, he knew. Gray… Uh-oh, I need to ask him if he's okay with me telling Cliff… this is not going to be pretty…

I bit the bottom of my lip, the boat was drawing closer. I turned to my friends. "Thanks… It meant a lot that you came…"

They wiped tears that began to come to their eyes. I hugged them and told them I'd be back in Flower Bud before they knew it. I stopped in front of my sister; she smiled as tears fell from her cheeks.

"Good luck, sis. You'll need it." She said trying to make a joke. I laughed through my breath.

"Don't blow up the kitchen, or you know that Ethica'll want to, too." I heard the girls shakily giggle behind me, Sage nodded.

"Yeah…" I hugged her with one arm, and then let the other wrap around her.

"Thanks…" She hugged me back. When we parted, the boat was there. Apple ran over to me and hugged me again, the others came over and we all group-hugged. I wiped the tears away from Apple's face.

"You guys take care of yourselves, okay? I can't come every weekend to clean up your messes."

"Yes, mom!" They all laughed together, and boarded the boat waving bye.

Gray walked next to me and put his arm around my shoulder as I waved back. I watched until the boat disappeared, still biting my lip to keep tears coming to my eyes, it worked. He sighed.

"They can be a hand full, but you hate to see them go."

I nodded. "They're my best friends; I love them very much…"

Cliff came over from where he was standing with Ann and Kai. "You okay Eve?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm going to go; I'll meet you guys later."

They nodded and went to the Seaside Lodge as I went to my house. I flopped onto my bed, exhausted. Suddenly, a thought popped into my mind. I ran to the calendar and nearly screamed. I had things to do!

* * *

I ran into the Inn, shouted a 'hi' to Ann and flew up the stairs to the guys' room; Cliff was staring at the ceiling when I came in. He looked over at me and smiled. "Hey Eve! What're you doing here?"

A smile so large overcame my face and made my eyes squint shut. "I have a surprise for you! C'mon!"

I started to run down the stairs, Cliff following. "What? What's going on?" I heard him shout, but I just continued to giggle.

We ran out the Inn, past my house, and out on Mother's Hill. I finally stopped to catch my breath when Cliff came over to me. He seemed out of breath, too. "What's… What's going on?"

I stood up straight and smiled. "I wanted to give you something special!"

He tilted his head slightly. "Huh? Why?"

"Because," I said holding something behind my back. "I don't want my best friend's birthday to go unnoticed."

His eyes opened wide. "M-M-My b-birthday?"

I nodded. "Yeah! I wanted to get you something special! Something that means a lot! So, I made this!"

I handed him the paper that was hidden behind me. He took it hesitantly. "Really?"

"Yes, silly!" He flipped it over. "Happy birthday, buddy!"

His face changed from unsure to total happiness. "It's great! I love it! Thanks, Eve!"

"I'm glad you like it. You sure you don't want me to buy you something?"

He shook his head. "No, not at all. This is really something, Eve. You have a way with the pencil and pad."

I sighed out of relief. _Thank goddess he liked it…_ "Eve?" I looked up. "Why'd you tear this out of your picture journal?"

This time, I tilted my head to the side. "How'd you know that was from my picture journal?"

He turned red; I laughed. "Let me guess, Gray." He nodded.

I laughed again. "Still, thank you Eve. I didn't think you'd remember."

I shook my head. "Nope, I will never forget your birthday, Cliff."

He smiled and gave me a hug. I hugged him back. _That was sweet! _He pulled back and we went home. I looked around my house and then went to my bedside table. I picked up the book that was sitting on it. I flipped through the book until I found a clean page and I picked up a pencil and began to draw.

No time to be sad in Mineral Town, life just moves on.

**Yes, yes, it was a short chapter and it had a fluffy ending. I said it before, I'll say it again, I LOVE FLUFF!**


	17. Dark Sky and Smooth Skye

**Chapter 17: Dark Sky and Smooth Skye**

A smile curved onto my face as I looked at Eve's picture again. It showed all her friends from Flower Bud jumping into the ocean. She was sitting on the dock, laughing. Gray sat next to her with a smile tugging on his face and Kai was in the water with a look of bewilderment as the girls pounced above him. I was sitting next to Eve and laughing with her.

Everything on the paper seemed to have life. The girls' eyes sparkled as they leapt, Gray and Kai's expressions seemed dead on, and I noticed how Eve's face seemed to flush as my 2-D self sat beside her. I smiled again and then looked out the window. The clouds looked gray and ominous; rain would soon fall today.

I got off of my bed, deciding a walk seemed necessary. I came down the stairs, until Ann stopped me. "Hey Cliff! Going for a walk?"

I smiled and nodded. Ann seemed much less annoying these days. She grinned back at me. "Cool, any place in particular? 'Cause if you're going to Eve's, I needed to ask her a favor!"

I nodded again. "Yeah, I'll head there. What did you want to ask her?"

"What was her recipe for her special cake? I can't remember its name…"

"Sure, see ya." Ann cocked her head in thought and put a pensive finger to her lips and tapped it a few times. I blinked in confusion. "Uhhh… what's wrong?"

"You seem…different, more outgoing these days."

I looked up. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

She smiled. "That's great for you! Glad to hear it!"

She skipped away up the stairs to continue her chores. I walked down the stairs and out the door. A cool, summer air met me at the entrance. _Yeah, a storm's coming… _I continued to walk down the stone path, ignoring the breeze as it began to pick up. I found the entrance to Golden Farm and strolled in. I looked around, expecting Eve to be out watering her crops or just standing there for a particular reason, but she wasn't there.

I took another glance around, still no Eve, and then I heard a rustle in the tree down by the tiny pond in her yard. I walked over to see Eve with a pencil in hand and a pad of paper in the other. She was humming away to a song again. I leaned against the tree and waited; she didn't look down. I grabbed a tree branch and began to shake it. She almost fell out, but grabbed another branch for support. I laughed.

She look down and saw me, I waved. She laughed and turned off her Ipod. "Hey! What're you doing here?"

"Just walking, but Ann wanted me to ask you-"

**CRACK!**

A bolt of lightning pierced the sky and turned it into a dark mess of clouds that swirled into the storm. Rain fell lightly for mere moments, but instantly soaked us in seconds. I helped Eve down from the tree and we ran into her house for shelter. I opened the door, but she put a hand up telling me she wasn't going in just yet. "What?! Are you nuts?!"

She smiled. "I just wanted to see- Oh, look!" She cried as another stream of lightning filled the sky. Her face lit up; she seemed pleased by the storm. I grabbed her arm and pulled her in as she still stared, wanting more lightning to erupt and blow up the sky.

Once I closed the door, I noticed how drenched I was. Water slipped down my nose and onto the floor. I rubbed the back of my neck. "Sorry for getting your place all wet…"

"Don't worry; as long as we're okay, I'm fine!" I smiled and she turned to get a few blankets. I heard a knock at the door. I wrung out my ponytail as I opened it. In the entrance was a very wet Kai.

He cocked his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Is that Kai? Tell him to come in! I'll get him a towel!" Eve shouted from the other room. Kai stepped in and looked around.

"Nice, very nice. I'm thinking cottage-chic?"

"You thought right." Eve said coming in and handing him a towel. He smirked and thanked her.

"Thanks Eve." I said as she handed me a towel, too. She smiled to us and went to the kitchen and began to fix something. Kai walked over to her TV.

"Can we watch a movie?" Eve turned her head and smiled again.

"Whatever you want. I don't have a lot of movies, but you guys have fun!"

Kai put a hand over his eyes and randomly picked out a case. He looked at it. He read the title out loud. "Dr. House…"

"Really? You want to watch that?" Eve looked pleased and shocked at the same time. Kai shrugged.

"Meh, I'll watch it. What is it about?"

"It's about a really good doctor who can figure out anything that's wrong with you _and _he's a jack ass, drug-addict, and he has to wear a cane when he walks because of a past surgery. It's a great series, you can watch it if you want."

Kai looked at the cover again and then shrugged. "Sure, what the hell?"

I took the case from Kai's hand and read the back of it. _I guess it'd be okay…_

Kai took it back from me and popped the disc into the DVD player in Eve's TV. I sat down on the couch with the towel draped around my shoulders. Kai plopped down next to me. Eve was about to come over, but someone else had knocked on the door. "I'll get it!"

Eve put a few mugs of hot chocolate in front of us and ran to the door. Kai turned to me. "Please explain why you were here."

I rolled my eyes. "It was nothing, I was going to take a walk, but Ann wanted me to ask Eve a question for her. THAT'S ALL."

Kai narrowed his eyes then let one brow rise. "Alright, your story checks out."

"What were you doing here?" I asked. Kai rubbed the back of his neck.

"I, ummmm… wanted to… ask Eve for Ethica's number…" I smirked.

"So you and Ethica, huh?"

He turned a slight shade of red. "Yeah, well… at least she knows I like her!"

I felt a blush sweep over my cheeks. "I-I-I…"

He laughed. "I win!"

"Win what?" Eve said coming back over to us, behind her was a soaked Gray. He took his hat off and wiped a few beads of rain that were falling down his forehead, off.

"Hey." He greeted us. I smiled.

"Hey, Gray."

"Sup Gray! Were gonna watch Dr. House!"

Gray's eyes opened wide and he gave Eve a look. "How'd you get Kai to watch a movie like that?"

She smiled. "He picked it, I'm just going with that." he shrugged and sat down. Eve clicked the remote, sat on the floor, and the movie/ show began.

* * *

Kai was crying. His lower lip trembled even though he bit it as hard as he could. Gray had laughed at almost everything that Dr. House said. True, it was funny, but the thought of saying such things to people made me feel sort of guilty. AND I DIDN'T EVEN SAY THEM!

I looked over at Eve. Her head slumped against my knee, sleeping. I smiled. _She really must be exhausted after all those long nights and early mornings… _Her eyes began to tense and release quickly and unevenly; she was having a nightmare. I nudged her head slightly and she woke with a start, sort of terrified-like. I gave her a look of concern, but she returned it by giving me a look that seemed to say 'just a nightmare!', but I barely bought it.

She stretched as the show ended. Kai brushed his tears away. "That was _okay_." I chuckled.

Eve stood up and yawned. She looked at the clock; it was almost midnight. "Is the storm still going?"

Gray got up and walked to the window. "Sort of, it's really raining but the wind died down."

He spoke too soon, a gust of wind whistled though Eve's house that made us all shiver. Kai yawned. 'What do we do now?"

Eve went to a closet and pulled out some blankets. "Guess you guys are staying for the night."

Kai got off the couch and began to jump up and down as he clapped his hands. "Oh, slumber party!" he shouted femininely. Eve laughed.

"Okay, who wants the bed?" she asked.

Kai flopped onto the bed without a word. "I guess Kai wants it." she said smiling. She turned her attention away to me and Gray. "Which one of you would like the couch?"

Gray shook his head. "You should, you already gave up your bed." I nodded, but Eve gave him a disagreeing look.

"I'm the host, and I wouldn't feel right if either of you slept on my floor."

"Eve, just take it."

"Gray, c'mon, we can't seriously be fighting over this. We know who would win."

Gray winced and then sat down on the couch like a little boy who just got scolded. I chuckled at his expression. Eve looked around the room. "Where else, where else, where else…?"

I waved her rhetorical question off. "Its fine Eve, I'll sleep on the floor."

She looked defeated and sighed. "I'm sorry Cliff… I wish my house was bigger…" I shrugged.

"Then you wouldn't have pulled off the cottage-chic thing, would you?"

She gave me a half-hearted smile and went back to the closet for more blankets. She handed them out. "I'll be right back guys, got to get ready for bed."

We nodded and let her go to the bathroom to get changed. Kai bounced on the bed. "I'm hungry again, how about some popcorn?"

Gray got up and walked over to the kitchen. Kai raised his eyebrows. "Uhhhh… are you sure you can do that? You know, cook?"

"How hard could it be?" He got corn out of Eve's fridge and put it into a pot. He set it on top of a fire on the stove and turned to us. "See? No pr-"

**KA-BLOOM!**

The top of the pot blew off and hit the ceiling. We heard Eve shriek. "WHO LET GRAY TOUCH THE OVEN?!"

My jaw still hung low. _How can you mess up making _popcorn_?! _Kai went to the oven and started to get the remains of the ear of corn that Gray blew up.

Gray, however, stood there like a moron and stared at the ruin that was to be popcorn. "HOW'S THAT POSSIBLE?!"

I started to laugh. Mr. I-can-handle-everything-'cause-I'm-so-tough Gray, blowing up an ear of corn due to ignorance… too funny. I fell to the floor, still rolling with laughter. Kai was trying not to because Gray was giving him a death glare. "Say anything, and you will be eating your precious pineapples through a straw." Gray hissed through clenched teeth.

I stopped laughing, because I knew he wasn't lying. I've seen Gray much more pissed, and it gets ugly. I walked over to the couch and reread the back cover of Dr. House, just to get my mind off of Gray's little "mishap". I heard the bathroom door open and I looked over at Eve.

She was dressed in a camie over some baggy pants with her hair pulled up into a loose bun. Seeing Eve with glasses made her seem like a whole new person, it was interesting. She gave me a smile, but quickly turned her attention away to focus on her kitchen. "Is everything okay?"

Gray nodded. "Yeah, except for the corn…"

She laughed. "I can tell! I could hear it!" She gave a tiny shake of her head. "Next time, ask me to make popcorn, or Kai, he's good at it. But Gray…" he looked at her. "Please, for the love of the goddess, do NOT ever cook again, that is, if you love the person dearly."

Gray gave her a tiny scowl, but couldn't seem to keep it up after Eve smiled at him. She put a sleeping bag on the ground and covered it with a blanket. "Here, you sleep on this Cliff."

Eve put another sleeping bag on the ground and did the same to it. It was her 'bed' for the night. She got up and went to the kitchen. "_I'll_ make the popcorn, you guys can figure something else to do, okay?"

Gray nodded and walked over to the couch as Kai followed behind. Once Eve came over with the popcorn, they had decided on just watching TV until they fell asleep. Almost as soon as I hit the bedding of the sleeping bag, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

I woke up, but didn't open my eyes. It was about… oh, say 4 in the morning, so I didn't want to open my eyes and not find sleep again for the rest of the night. I just listened to whatever seemed to come my way; rain pattering on the window that was leftover by the storm, wind whistling softly through the door's cracks, … Eve talking?

I focused my ears on her voice… yes, it was her, but who would she be talking to this early in the morning? I flipped over, giving me a better spot to listen.

"Actually, no, I haven't been practicing lately. I have responsibilities to tend to."

"So you're just going to dismiss your talents, my dear Eve? Come now…" the male voice said soothingly. _Okay, that is definitely not Gray… _"You must flaunt your gift, not hide it."

"I know… but I can't just throw myself out there… I'll look like some freak."

"You? A freak? My darling Eve, no one could call you a freak."

"It's been done before…"

There was a pause. "…It was that Dan wasn't it?"

"Please, I don't want to talk about him. Let's talk about you, how have you been doing lately?"

A small chuckle came from the man. "Oh, sweet, little Eve… you can't change the subject quite like that, be creative, dearest."

I heard Eve sigh. "Well, then, why were you sneaking around my house and then trying to come through my window? Is that pretty creative?" Her voice was not it the least bit angry. _Wait… what?! He was breaking into her house?!_

I sat up; startled that Eve could have such a casual conversation with a burglar. Eve looked over at me and gave me a worried expression.

"Cliff? What's wrong?"

The man chuckled; he had silvery hair that reached his shoulders and a smooth façade, as if he was just having a pleasant conversation with a friend instead of his intended victim of theft. "Night-mare?"

I looked at him more closely, then it hit me. My eyes opened wide. "Y-Y-You're..."

"Phantom Skye, that is correct. But please, call me Skye."

Eve still gave me a worried look. "You okay?"

I nodded. "H-How do you know him?"

"Old friend of mine, Skye. Though, I didn't expect the next time to see him again was when he was trying to steal some of my valuables…" she said, slowly turning her head to the silver-haired man.

He rolled his eyes. "Ah, but I didn't now did I?"

She closed her eyes and laughed under her breath. "No, you didn't…"

Skye looked at me and then returned his gaze back to Eve. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Eve took a sip of some of her tea she had in front of her and then shook her head. "Cliff's one of my best friends."

I nodded, agreeing with her. Skye merely smirked. "Of course, of course… for now."

"Very funny, Skye."

I decided to speak up. "Just what are you doing here?"

Eve raised her eyebrows and let her jaw drop slightly. "Cliff, why would you say that? That's something I would expect from... from Gray, actually."

Skye waved it off. "Don't worry, Eve-y, I'm used to it. Some men don't appreciate it when I get a little too close to their women." Eve sighed as she dumped her head into her hands. Skye turned his head to me. "As for your question, I was here to steal. It may seem bad to you, but that's how I live my life. Now, I did not know this was my beloved Eve's house, if I had, I wouldn't have been prowling around as such."

Eve rolled her eyes. "Prowling? C'mon Skye, I could hear you while I was sleeping. That's not very secretive, if you ask me."

"Yes, well, I wasn't." he stood up from where he was sitting. "Anyway, I must be on my way." Eve stood up, too.

"It was really great seeing you again, Skye."

"Likewise, my wonderful Eve." She smiled and turned to wash her cup out. Skye flew to my side and whispered in my ear. "Keep her safe, got it? She's a very sweet girl I don't want to see hurt, so watch her. Or else…" his eyes narrowed. "You will most definitely regret it."

I shook him off of my shoulder. "Trust me; I won't let a thing happen to her." Skye looked at me, and then smirked.

"I believe you; you may not admit it, but you do like her… I can see it."

He went over to Eve and gave her a hug from behind. "It was a lovely visit, sweet Eve, we must do it again."

She turned and hugged him back. "Sure, but next time, call me like a normal person."

He smirked. "I'm not normal." In a split-second, he was gone. I watched Eve turn out the lights and crawl into her makeshift bed.

"Thanks for not calling the police… Skye may be a thief, but he's really caring and sweet. I've known him for some time now, and I just don't want to see such a nice guy go to prison… so, thanks again, Cliff."

I nodded in the dark. "No problem Eve. Just warn me next time, okay?"

She giggled softly. "Yeah, will do. Night, Cliff."

"Night." A few moments of silence, and I heard Eve's slow breathing; sleep had found her. I closed my eyes as sleep began to fall on me, but my eyes popped open when I realized something.

What was the name and recipe of Eve's special cake?

**Yeah... not my best. I promise the next one will be better! Promise!**


	18. Secret Revealed

**Chapter 18: Secret Revealed**

It was Fall, one of my favorite seasons. Such beautifully crisp air blew through the trees that had turned many amazing, breathtaking colors… _Ahhh… _I sat outside on the tree that was in my yard, holding a book. I was really looking at the letter illuminations, they were beautiful. So elegant and carefully painted it was amazing.

I looked up from my book, hearing a noise come from the entrance to my farm. I saw Cliff, seemingly somber, as he walked in. I felt my chest tighten up remembering my argument with Gray.

* * *

_"No." He said sternly, giving me a cold glare._

_"He has to know! I can't just leave him in the dark; he'll find out eventually, and I want him to find it out from me." I retorted. I couldn't match his glare, but my facts might beat him._

_"If you care about him, you won't tell him."_

_"What if he sees me, huh, Gray? What if one day, I'm in the woods practicing, and he sees me? Can I tell him then? Or is now better?"_

_He took his hat off and covered his eyes with his hand and then pulled his hat back on. "Then don't let him see you…"_

_"I'm sorry Gray, but my mind is made up. The girls all agree with me, so I'm going to tell him, and that's final."_

_His fists tightened and he stormed out of my house. I felt weak in the knees, so I sat down on my couch. Now all I had to do was tell Cliff…_

* * *

I shuddered, feeling cold all of the sudden, and jumped down from the safety of the tree. Cliff saw me and gave me a half-hearted smile. "Hey."

I took a deep breath. "Hey."

We stood there for a few seconds and I finally broke the silence. "I have to show you something."

He looked up from the ground; his somber façade changed to a concerned one. "What's wrong?"

I tilted my head, telling him to follow me. He did and we walked in silence out to the forest. I found a meadow and stopped in front of it. He looked at me curiously. "This it?"

I bit the bottom of my lip. It prevented me from saying 'Yup! Isn't it pretty?' But that's not the reason we're here. "No." my voice was even. "There's more."

I picked up the locket that had been warmed on my skin. "This locket belongs to my family; the Pomme family." he nodded. "It goes to every child that is born to the family and is passed down to their children; this is mine."

He nodded again. I took a deep breath. "Do you know anyone else who owns this locket?" he shook his head this time. I bit the bottom of my lip again, stopping it from trembling. "You will now."

I opened the locket to reveal a deep blue gem embedded in it. I pressed my thumb against it, and a wind whipped through us. The trees swayed roughly as eight wisps of clouds fell to the ground. Out of those wisps, came all of my friends; Sage, Shawn, Apple, Ethica, Noelle, Donna, Lynn, and Lannie. I didn't look at Cliff, afraid that he had already run away. I was mistaken. "B-B-But…" he stammered.

I finally looked at him; his jaw had fallen and his eyes were wide. I continued. "These eight girls own the lockets."

He closed his fallen jaw. "They're your _sisters_?"

"No, but we are related."

Lynn came next to him. "We weren't born in Flower Bud, but in Kardia, a town where magical blood is possible to appear."

"M-M-Magical b-b-blood?"

I nodded and looked at the ground. He continued to talk. "So that means that you're… you're…"

"Witches…" I finished for him. I felt a lump form in my throat. _This is it... He's going to run away… _I waited for the sound of footsteps pounding away from us… freaks. I didn't hear it; I looked up, surprised. Cliff was looking down at me, worried.

"What? What's wrong?"

"A-Aren't you going to run away?" I stammered. He smirked and shook his head.

"Never. Why would I? So what if you're witches? It's not like you're going to come after me, trying to make me into some kinda animal or something!" he stopped and gave us a pleading look. "You're not, right?"

"…maybe…" Donna giggled. Cliff laughed and then put him arm around me.

"Nothing's gonna make me run away from you…guys! You guys…" he said realizing what he said and then fixing it. I smiled.

"Thanks, Cliff…"

I sighed. "You don't know how long I wanted to get that off of my shoulders, Cliff…"

He went back being a little somber as he rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. My eyebrows pressed together out of concern. "Is everything okay Cliff?"

His eyes looked at me. "What? Oh, yeah! Yeah, I'm fine…"

I sighed and turned to the girls. "Thanks ladies, I'll see you in the Winter."

They all smiled and disappeared. Cliff watched the wisps of clouds fly away and then turned to me. "What can they do?"

"Well, I'll let you see their 'talents' later, but for now, let's go home." He agreed and we walked onward.

After a few minutes silence, I couldn't stand it any longer. "Cliff, what's wrong?"

He continued to look ahead. "Nothing's wrong."

"Yes, there is. You can't even talk to me without looking away. You know you can tell me anything."

He finally looked at me and I mentally gasped. There was pain in his eyes, foreshadowing pain. He said the words clearly. "I'm fine Eve, don't worry."

With that said he looked back to the front and continued to walk. I stayed back for a few moments, paralyzed with shock, and then raced ahead to catch up with him.

I entered my house, feeling bittersweet. I was relieved that I had told Cliff what was, well, wrong with me. But, the pain in his eyes… I winced, remembering. I finally took out my picture journal and began to draw.

It was a picture of me as a witch as humans usually think of, with a tall, pointed hat and a long, black dress. In the background was a very angry Gray and a hurt Cliff.

**Eve's a witch! Wheeee! Now that Eve spilled her guts, it's Cliff's turn!**


	19. Caged Bird Sings

**Chapter 19: Caged Bird Sings**

Kai had left the other day, which brought the mood down on Mineral Town. I remember watching him go, it was sort of funny, sorry to say.

_"Bye Kai! See you next Summer!" Eve screamed from the dock, waving. Gray and I waved too, but Popuri just wept._

_"I'LL MISS YOU!!" She wailed. "I'LL BE HERE FOR YOU!"_

_Gray rolled his eyes at Popuri's neediness. She turned to Eve and started to cry on her shoulder. Eve patted her head and then yelled to Kai. "143-2564!"_

_Popuri stopped crying and stared at Eve in confusion, but Kai took out his cell phone and typed the number in; it was Ethica's. Gray and I laughed. Popuri had no idea that Kai was into another girl and she probably wouldn't know until next summer. Okay, that may seem mean, but seriously, this is Popuri we're talking about._

_Eve gave us what seemed to be a glare, but being the lovable person she is, she couldn't pull it off._

I laughed at the memory of Eve's so-called 'scowl'. Gray looked over at me. "What's so funny?"

"Nothin', what to do today…?" I asked myself, it being only 12 in the afternoon and already bored.

Gray shrugged. I mentally sighed out of relief that Gray wasn't pissed at me. Eve had told me that night that Gray didn't want me to know that she was a witch, and personally, I was scared. (_Gray gets pretty scary people! He really does!_)Well, thank goddess he didn't get mad…

_"So, you're okay with it?" I nodded._

_"Why wouldn't I be? Eve's my best friend, I wouldn't hate her for something like that!"_

_Gray smirked, and then let out a sad sigh. "I was just worried about her…" My eyebrows knitted together. "It's just that Dan- the guy from Flower Bud- almost found out about it…"_

_I didn't press the matter further. I didn't want Gray to kill me._

"What do you think, Cliff?" I snapped out of my thoughts.

"What?" Ann was across the table from me and laughed.

"Are you even listening to me? We're talking about the Music Festival!"

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "Sorry, fazed out there for a minute…"

Ann waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. I heard that Karen's not going to be able to do it this year, she's going to her relative's!"

Gray's mouth dropped open, as did mine. "How are we going to do the Music Festival then?"

I nodded, agreeing with what Gray asked. Ann waved it off like it was nothing. "Pft, that's easy! We already have another victim!"

I cringed. "Victim?"

She giggled. "Yup!"

Gray cocked his head. "Who is it?"

She giggled again. "That's the funny part… Eve."

* * *

"Oh, hell no." Eve said, not looking away from her plants as she watered them.

"Why not?" I asked. "Everyone goes to it!"

"Exactly! I can't do it Cliff, I just can't." She explained, finally turning to me. I sighed and swiped a hand over my hair. "Listen, it's really nice of you to come and try to encourage me to do it, but I have to tell Carter that I won't be able to make it."

She started to walk to the entrance of Golden Farm. I ran over and grabbed her arm. "Wait! Don't do that. Carter looks forward to this every year; you can't do that to him."

She folded her arms over her chest. "Do you have to remind me? Yes, I get it, I get it…I know I would hurt Carter's feeling if I did…"

"So you'll do it?"

"I thought I already answered that, hell no!"

I clapped my hands over my face and let them slide to the sides. I sighed. "C'mon, Eve…"

"C'mon Cliff…" she said with the same exact tone. I narrowed my eyes.

"That wasn't funny."

"Not the point! I'm going down to the Church, he never told me I was singing, so maybe I'm not and that's just a rumor."

I stopped in tracks and suddenly realized her logic could be true. "Whoops…"

"Yeah, whoops." she repeated me with sarcasm. I ran ahead to catch up with her.

We entered the Church and saw Carter by the podium. He looked up and when he saw us, he waved. "Good afternoon, Cliff and Eve."

Eve waved back. "Hi Carter!" She ran over to the podium. "Do you know who's singing at the Music Festival this year?"

He gave her a look of confusion. "Yes, you are. Because Karen won't be able to do it this year, and your friends –I think they were Sage, Shawn and… Peach? Oh, I don't remember…- but they said you had a beautiful singing voice. I was about to ask you to do it, but they said just to write you down, because you would definitely do it."

Eve smiled. "Yeah… well, thank you Carter!"

He smiled back. "Anytime, Eve. Hope you have a pleasant day!"

With that we left the Church. "Are you doing it?" I asked her.

"Shut up." Eve replied, obviously disappointed in herself. But, I just laughed. "Oh, what am I going to do…?"

"Just sing, there's nothing to worry about."

"… I guess… I just really don't want to do it…" she said sighing.

"Yeah, I can tell…" I said. She gave a small moan and we went into the Inn. Ann waved from across the counter.

"Hi-i! What's up?"

Eve ran over and sat down. "Bad news…"

"What's that?"

"I'm singing at the Music Festival…" she groaned, letting her head fall onto the table with a thud. Ann patted her head.

"Oh, you'll be fine. I'll be up there with you!"

"You're singing too?" Eve asked hopefully.

"No way! I wouldn't sing up there for a hundred bucks!" eve let her head fall again. Ann covered her mouth. "Whoopsies…"

I decided to let the girls chat for awhile, so I went upstairs to my room. It was a little lonely, not having Kai around anymore, but kind of relaxing.

This gave me time to think about how to tell Eve that I was leaving. _~clears throat~ Take one!_

_Sorry, Eve, but I have to leave Mineral Town forever! _

_Take two!_

_Eve! Hey! How you doing? Oh, me? Yeah, gotta leave forever…_

_Take three._

_I decided to take a vacation from Mineral Town. When am I coming back, you ask? Oh, never._

_Take four…_

_SEE YA!_

I frowned. _Well, isn't this just fan-freakin'-tastic?! Now what are you going to do, Cliffy? Buy a bunch of little puppies and then run 'em over? _My frown deepened and I slapped my forehead for thinking of such a thing. I sighed and flipped over on my bed so that I pretty much inhaled the pillow. A knock came to the door and I flipped again. "Who is it?"

"Eve, I'm going to visit Gray at the Blacksmith's, want to come?"

"Nah, I'm going to stay here…"

She waited a few seconds, unsure of my answer. "…Well, okay then. See ya." I heard her footsteps die away.

I sighed again. _Take five…_

**Hurry up Cliff! You only have about two weeks! Hurry, hurry, hurry!**


	20. UMA

**Chapter 20: UMA**

_Two days to go… _I sighed. Two days and it would be the Music Festival. I sat on my bed as I banged my head against my pillow. _Why would they do this to me?! _I was still self-concious about my voice, and this wouldn't make it any better…

My mind back-tracked to when Cliff and I went to the Church, and then it changed subjects. Cliff… what was wrong? I thought I got him out of his shell, but it was like he just got clamped back in! The whole day yesterday I invited him to join us (Ann, Gray, Mary, and I) as we went around town, but he just kept declining in his old, meek, shy voice.

I took an annoying, stray hair out of my face and swiveled it around my ear. _Did I do something? Did I say something? _Then a sudden truth hit me. _What if he's afraid of me? With me being a witch, does he think I might hurt him or other people? _I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip.

I got up and decided to face the facts. He probably was afraid of me, but didn't want to tell me… No matter how hurt I felt, I would just have to accept it… one way or another.

I got changed and brushed my hair and teeth without looking in the mirror. I'm not in the mood to deal with my reflection this morning. I opened the door to find rain quenching the thirst of my plants. I put on a half-hearted smile that others could consider it a whole-hearted one and strolled down the road to the library.

When I entered it, Mary greeted me with her usual smile. "Good morning, Eve! How are you this rainy day?"

I smiled back. "Oh, perfectly fine, Mary. I was wondering how your novel was coming along."

Her face brightened up. "It's great! I just finished another chapter! Care to read and criticize?"

"Always!" I sat in the chair next to her as she pulled out a worn binder filled with papers that have been written on. Mary handed me a few with dark, bold words written on the top: **The Witches' Dance**. I mentally burst out laughing, but my posture retained as normal as ever.

I read the first paragraph and was quite interested. The main character had stumbled upon a cave where three witches lived. Two were ugly hags who had nothing to do but toil away making potions and casting hexes on the village below the cavern. The third was a beautiful witch, who was apprenticed to the other two. The main character had fallen in love with her. But, the beautiful witch didn't love him back. The main character decided to make a potion for himself, a love potion. He was about to slip it in her drink, but he was in the middle of choosing his happiness over her happiness.

I gasped when I turned the page and found that I was at the beginning again. I looked at Mary. "That was amazing, Mary! Please continue, I have to know how it ends."

Mary laughed. "That was what I wanted to ask you; should it have a good ending, or a bad ending?"

I thought for a moment. But, Mary gasped. "Are you actually thinking? I would have thought that you'd have already said 'good ending'."

I shook my head. "There is none; either the witch falsely falls in love with the main character, or the main character leaves her be. The first ending is good for the main character, but not the witch. The second is good for the witch, and not the main character."

Mary nodded. "I see, and I guess you're right. But what do I chose?"

I smiled. "What's right." Mary looked confused for a moment, and then smiled.

"I get it! I'll just have to wait when the times right; then I'll know!"

I nodded and got up to read a book. But my mind couldn't concentrate on the words; it had returned to Cliff. I kept the book over my face just like normal and pretended to read for Mary's sake. I let my mind wonder.

_There's no point in seeing him today, just give him some space. Maybe he'll see you later on… or maybe not. Maybe he'll apologize for ignoring your invitations… or maybe not. Maybe he'll… or maybe not…_

I closed my eyelids as they felt heavy. Sleep tried to overcome me, but I fought it off… sort of. I lost.

* * *

I felt a strong hand pushing me awake. At first, I resisted, but I finally let go of the dreamless sleep and opened my eyes. Gray and Mary were standing in front of me. Gray smiled. "Morning, sleepyhead."

I felt shock overcome my face. "Don't tell me its morning!"

Mary gave Gray a scolding look and then showed me a smile. "No, he's just trying to bug you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Mary. Thanks for letting me sleep." She nodded.

"I didn't want to tell you, but you looked exhausted when you came in here. I think you should go to the Clinic."

I looked up at Gray and then nodded. "I think I should. I _am _absolutely worn out." He nodded.

Gray walked me to the Clinic because Mary had to stay behind and keep care of the Library. As we entered, Elli gave us her usual heart-warming smile. "Hello! Are you two feeling okay?"

"I am, but Eve's not looking so good though." I tossed my hands up and gave her an 'oh well!' look. She still smiled as she looked at my face.

"Oh, I guess you do look a little pale. Did you get a lot of sleep last night?"

"Is nine hours alright?"

"Yes, that's perfect… Hmmm… Oh! Wait; there's been a little bug that's been going around. Maybe that's it!" Elli turned and called the doctor. "Doctor Trent! Could you come here for a minute?"

Trent came out and looked at me and Gray. His dark eyes studied me. I felt like I was being judged, so I straightened up a bit. He smirked at my posture, which made me relax a bit. I let a smile come over my face. "Hi Dr. Trent."

"Afternoon, Eve." He turned to Elli. "What's the problem?"

"Eve here isn't feeling too well. It could be the bug that's been going around." The doctor nodded.

He came over to me and used his hand to pick up my chin as he studied my face again. I didn't try to stop him, he was a professional and I trusted him. He narrowed his eyes and then released my chin. I didn't notice how hard he was holding my face until the pain suddenly washed to my chin. I ignored it and continued to watch Elli and the doctor.

"Nothing's wrong, just a little tired. I suggest that you get to sleep earlier tonight, okay?" I nodded.

"That's perfect! Thank you!" He smiled.

"No problem." He walked back to his desk and continued his work. A wave of relief washed over me. _He didn't ask me about my condition… thank goddess, I need to be more careful. _Elli's eyes were wide, but when she blinked a few times, they went to normal.

I turned and began to leave. "Better get home; I'll see you later, Elli!" She waved as I left.

Once we were out, Gray turned to me. "Did you see that?"

"What?"

"Dr. Trent! He was so… pleasant."

"So doctors can't be pleasant?"

"No! It's just… he's usually so intimidating, even for me!"

I shook my head. "I swear, I was having the same problem with Cliff."

"What do you mean?"

"I told him that Ann was a very forgiving person."

"Ann? Forgiving?"

"That's what he said!" I laughed. "But, I told him, and I'll tell you, you just need to see the good in people."

He shrugged, and then smirked. "Remember what people used to say about us back in Flower Bud?"

I shook my head as I silently giggled. "That I'm the angel and you're practically the devil."

He smiled. "Still am."

I wrapped an arm around him. "No…" I looked up at his tall figure. I seemed to short compared to him, let alone my sister. "You just need to see the good in you."

He gently pulled my ponytail. "Yeah, right."

"Don't worry, it'll come out soon! I promise."

He smiled. "You good with words you know?"

"Yup!"

"And you're modest sometimes…"

I rolled my eyes. "Let's go, I'm hungry."

"Yeah."

We walked home, only listening to our rhythmic footsteps and enjoying the others' company. Gray opened the doors of the Inn and we came in. "Hey Ann!"

Her head popped up from under the counter and she smiled. "Yo lady and semi-gentleman!"

Gray rolled his eyes. "Same goes to you."

She pouted and then smiled at me. "Hungry?"

"Yup, think I can have breakfast for linner?"

"Linner?"

"Lunch and dinner! It's like brunch, but later!" She laughed and nodded.

"Pancakes sound good?"

"Sounds good to me!" She spun around and proceeded to the making of my 'linner'. Gray sat next to me and took off his hat to wipe a hand trough his hair. I picked up the hat and studied it, and suddenly it came to me.

"You kept it?" I asked with awe. He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"I just thought… oh, I don't know! I just wouldn't think that you would have kept it…"

* * *

_"Happy Birthday, Gray!" I shouted at the top of my lungs._

_He smiled his new 7-year old smile. "Thanks, Eve!" I held out a small, wrapped box. The bow was silver, his favorite color. He looked surprised._

_"I-I-Is this for me?" he asked pointing to himself. I nodded._

_"Of course! I needed to get you something for your birthday, so I bought this with all the money out of my piggy bank!"_

_His jaw dropped. "B-B-But you've been saving that f-f-for years!"_

_I shrugged. "No biggie! I didn't need the money, but I had to get you a present!"_

_He smiled and took the present. Once he tore the paper off and ripped the top of the box, he took out a hat. Above its blue brim was the word '__**UMA**__'. He looked at it carefully._

_"It looks just like Blue's hat…" he said, still staring at it._

_I nodded. "Is that okay?"_

_He smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I can be just like my older cousin!" He put the hat on, it was a little big._

_"Yay! Do you like it?"_

_"Of course! Thanks Eve! I'll never take it off!"_

_"Only for bed silly!" I giggled._

_He laughed, too. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me!" He came over to me and gave me a hug. "Thanks sis…"_

_I hugged him back. "Anytime, bro, anytime…"_

* * *

I smiled at the memory. "Thanks sis."

I looked over at Gray who was smiling at me. I smiled back. "Anytime, bro, anytime…"

**Awww... that was sweet... WAIT! Cliff STILL didn't tell Eve! GAWD! Humph... maybe next chapter...**


	21. Pity

**Sorry for those who like the doctor... but I needed someone to be in the Clinic who said this and it wasn't going to be Elli!**

**Chapter 21: Pity**

Today… today…today… tomorrow… I slapped my forehead. I was thinking of when I need to tell Eve that I need to leave. I sighed and looked in the mirror across the room. The reflected me looked sad and stressed, which I was.

I heard hard steps come up the stairs. _Gray… _Gray came through the door. "Doing anything?"

I shook my head, still in my thoughts. Gray rolled his eyes and grabbed something from his dresser. It was a book; to be precise; it was Eve's picture journal. "What are you doing with that?"

"Putting it back before Eve notices that it's gone." He walked out the door, but entered again. He closed the door with a thud; his eyes were wide with fear.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Eve's out there!" He told me. I covered my face with my hands. "Then why slam a door in her face?"

Gray's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but then rose when he realized what he did. He turned and swung the door open. Eve was leaning on the frame, looking at her nails and then at Gray. "I was wondering when you were opening the door. And that…" she slipped the book out of Gray's calloused hands into her slender, smooth hands. "Is mine."

She turned around and walked down the stairs as if nothing happened. Gray, however, stood in the same exact position as he had when he opened the door. I shook my head. "Nice…"

He shook his head and came out of his temporary paralysis. "I forgot to ask, how'd Eve take the news? You know for the Music Festival?"

I looked at the ground, feeling regret for not telling Eve yet. Gray looked at me, I couldn't put my finger on it, but I think he was _concerned_. "What's wrong?"

_I guess Eve's rubbing off on him… _"Nothing." I lied. He stared at me for a few moments and then shrugged as he walked out the door to who-knows-where. I kept staring at the floor, still wallowing in my guilt. Everything began to wash over me again; running away, coming home, my sister gone, mom dead, it all drowned me as it plowed over like some black water.

I closed my eyes as the black water of my faults reached my face. I felt cold for awhile, until a sweet voice entered my thoughts and pulled me out, but once I saw who it was, I fell back in. Eve watched me with this look of concern; her mouth was slightly agape and her eyes were glazed over with worry. "Cliff?"

I looked up at her and tried to muster enough happiness to manage a smile. She shook her head and sat next to me. "Goddess Cliff, what happened? What's wrong?"

I didn't say anything, only stared at her face. Her usually calm, happy face was twisted with worry. I finally answered her answer. "Nothing's wrong."

She was about to say something, but she took a long look at me and then looked down. I saw her eyes; they were worried, just worried. But without a word, she got up and left. I was stunned. Usually, she would make sure I was okay; ask me one more time if I was feeling alright. She would say good bye or see you later, but this time, nothing.

I was about to run after her, but the black water flooded over me again, sending me into a sleep.

* * *

I woke to see nothing but white. I closed my eyes again, blinded by the purity of the blank color. I finally opened my eyes slowly and found that I was in the Clinic. Dr. Trent walked in with a clipboard in hand and saw that I was awake. "Oh, you woke up."

I noticed the slight hostility in his voice, but ignored it so I could find out why I was there. "W-W-What happened?"

"You fainted." he replied curtly. Okay, now I can't ignore it. He's just being a jack-ass… again.

I sighed and lay back down on the bed, staring at the wall. I finally got blinded enough of the whiteness of the ceiling and closed my eyes. I heard the doctor mumble something. I looked over at him. "D-Did you say s-something?"

He seemed to give me a glare. "No."

"Hmmm…" I mumbled in response. Again, a few seconds of silence went by. My thoughts clouded over again. _How to tell her, how to tell her…_

"Tell her what?" I looked at Dr. Trent again.

"O-Ohhh… was I-"

"What were you going to tell her?" he interrupted me. I decided to tell him, it wasn't worth keeping it to myself.

"I-I-I might have t-t-to leave Mineral Town soon…" I stammered, looking at the ground as I told him. I looked up again and saw him shake his head.

"What makes you think that she would care?" I felt my jaw drop.

"W-W-Why wouldn't s-s-she?" I stuttered.

He gave me a look. "Ever think that she just pities you?"

I was about to argue… but… what if that was true? What if she _did _pity me? What if all that 'friend' junk was just to make me feel better? What if…when she kissed me… and… I closed my eyes. I didn't want to think about it.

I heard Trent turn back to his work. "Now you know…"

I got up and walked out before he told me anything else. But, I could have sworn for a minute, I heard Trent chuckle.

I decided not to head back to the Inn, but just wander, like before I came to Mineral Town. Before Mineral Town, I just walked from town to town, city to city, aimlessly. I didn't care where I was, as long as I found a place to sleep and eat, I was fine. Now, I had those things and I met my two best friends, Gray and Kai. I used to think I had three best friends… but now I just don't know.

I looked up from the ground and saw Golden Farm. Eve was sitting under the apple tree, reading a book. I shook my head, dismissing the idea that she would pity me. It seemed ridiculous…

She continued to sit there, until I finally noticed that her Ipod was on. She wouldn't be getting up unless I had to kick her. I was about to run over and pull her ponytail, but something stopped me. I took one step forward… and then turned and left.

**-wags finger- Tsk, tsk Cliffy... tsk, tsk...**


	22. Get Over It

**Chapter 22: Get Over It**

_Tomorrow's the day… _I banged my head against the wooden counter in the Inn. Ann wiped where my head had once been pelted. "Oh, don't worry, you'll be fine!"

I groaned. "Yeah right, and you can handle a room full of Kais without punching or kicking them." Ann thought for a few moments.

"I'm guessing that's a 'no'."

"Bingo, we have a winner!" I said almost tonelessly. She laughed, and then she stopped and gasped with excitement.

"Oh! I have a great idea! Let's go grab the other girls! I'll tell you on the way!" She grabbed my arm as she yanked me out of the chair and pulled me out of the Inn into the streets of Mineral Town.

Ann dragged –literally dragged- me to the following places: Library, Poultry Farm, and the Clinic (couldn't go to Supermarket, Karen's at her folks!). At each of the stops, she said the same thing. "SLEEPOVER AT INN! 7'O'CLOCK SHARP!" and shoop! We were out and around the corner.

I checked my watch as we returned to the Inn. I was out of breath, gasping for air, but Ann was running into the kitchen before I could tell her how long it took us to hive the news. "…10… freakin'… minutes…"

I walked to the kitchen and got myself water, while Ann began to prepare snacks for said 'sleepover'. "So, what do you have planned?"

Ann smiled. "Do you like Dance Dance Revolution?"

I gasped. "Oh, totally! I played it all the time back in Flower Bud!"

She laughed. "Good! That's what we're doing tonight, preparing for the Festival."

I nodded, and then gasped. I put on a huge smile. "I get it! I get it! But…" I tilted my head to the upstairs, referring to the guys. "What do we do about them?"

Ann waved the question off. "Leave it to me…" Her face went from easy-going to total evil. _Uh-oh…_

* * *

**NEW P.O.V**

I stumbled onto the pavement as Ann pushed me and Gray. "What the hell woman?!" Gray yelled.

Ann smirked. "Sorry! You guys are staying at Eve's place for the night! We need the Inn tonight."

"For a freakin' sleepover?! We live here!"

"But for tonight, you're staying at Eve's."

"I'm talking to Doug about this..." Gray mumbled and began to go into the Inn. Ann smacked his forehead as she thrust it out in front of her.

"Doug's at Forget-Me-Not Valley working with Ruby. As of two hours ago, I'm the manager of this place. Now SCRAM! We got work to do!" Eve gave us an apologetic look as Ann slammed the doors.

My jaw had already dropped, but I pulled it up and started to walk to Eve's place, but Gray stopped me. "Where're you goin'? We're camping out tonight!"

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, I have no idea what they're doing. How else are we going to find out?" I gave him a smirk, but it ended up being a false one, he took it anyway. He tapped his chin with his index finger. "Where'd I keep that video camera?"

* * *

**NEW P.O.V**

I laughed as Ann told me the plan. "What?" I managed to squeak after my laughing fit. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

"We're going to train you. You know, get over your fear of singing in public." I shrugged.

"Okey-doeky then!" I heard a knock at the front door and I ran to get it. Elli stood there with a grin plastered to her face.

"Hi!"

"Hey, Elli. C'mon in." I closed the door behind her and walked with her to the front counter. Ann was putting bowls of popcorn out, along with sodas and chips.

"Oh! Looks good Ann!" She praised. Ann gave her a smile.

"Thanks!" They chitchatted as another knock came at the door. I ran over and opened it to see Popuri and Mary.

"HI-I!" Popuri practically screamed. I smiled, ignoring the intense pain in my eardrum.

"Hello Eve…" Mary said as she smiled shyly.

"C'mon in girls, I'm sure you're pretty cold."

Popuri bounced up and down. "Nope, nope, nope! I'm fine! See, see, see?" she giggled as she continued to jump. I nodded.

"Yes, yes, yes." I said, Mary laughed.

"Should we head over? I'm pretty hungry." Mary asked.

I nodded and followed after her, with a skipping Popuri at my heels. As we gathered around, I smiled at my new friends. It felt good. I may have missed my old friends, but it was nice to know I had some new friends who were there to help me. Ann finally brought up our 'little situation'.

"Every- uh, guys, I- Girls-" she continued to be interrupted. She had enough of it. "SHUT UP! Thank you…" the girls went dead silent. "We need to get Eve ready for the Festival. She's a little scared of going in front of everybody and singing, not that we blame her, of course." They nodded. "We're going to play video games to get her started!"

They all giggled and clapped. "That sounds fun!" "Oooh! I haven't played them in a while!" "What are we playing?"

"Well… we'll start with Dance Dance Revolution then we'll do karaoke!"

They all agreed and we ran to the upstairs room. We dumped our belongings on the bed as Ann unraveled two DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) mats and clicked them into a Playstation 2. A colorful screen came up, and we began.

"Who starts?" Ann asked. Elli raised her hand.

"I will!" Popuri jumped down.

"Me too!"

They got onto the mats and the music began; it was a song called Speed Over Beethoven. Within seconds, we were cracking up. They had almost no rhythm!

Elli gave an impatient huff and Popuri bit her tongue as it fell out to the side in concentration. Once the song was over, both were panting. I smiled. "Good job! That was awesome!"

Elli wiped sweat from her brow and gave me a smile. I could have sworn I heard a snicker from near the door, but I ignored it. Mary sat on the bed. "That looked like so much fun!"

I nodded. "It is! Do you want to do it with me?" Mary looked hesitant, but I grabbed her wrist and helped her onto the mat. "Watch the arrows…"

The music flooded the room; it was a song called _Irresistiblement. _I counted to the beat, to help Mary keep time. "One, two, three, four, one, two…"

Mary seemed confused at first, but I helped a little more. "Watch me, Mary." She looked up and watched. I was on my tip-toes as I gracefully stepped to each arrow at the right time. I closed my eyes, having already memorized the footsteps and being lulled by the sweet tune. I heard Popuri.

"OHMIGODDESS!" I smiled and giggled. I heard another set of feet begin to dance. I opened my eyes and saw that Mary had closed her eyes and danced along with me. She was mouthing words.

"One, two, three, four…" I looked behind me; the others were doing the same, but with their eyes wide open in shock. Elli finally spoke.

"How am I doing this?!"

"What the frick?!" Ann…

Popuri just giggled. "You're a good teacher, Eve!"

I smiled. "That's why I went to college."

The music faded. The girls started to pant, being so out of breath. I laughed; it hadn't affected me at all! Mary looked at me as though I had just sprouted wings. "How did you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I felt… as though it wasn't me who was doing that!" the other girls nodded. I shook my head.

"No, I did not possess you!" I laughed. But, I had an idea of what they were talking about. Somehow, I'm able to let people learn. I can let them let go of everything else and somehow they figure it out, whatever they are troubled by. That's why I wanted to be a teacher.

"That…was…so…COOL!" Popuri shrieked.

Elli nodded. "It was…interesting…"

"Well…" Ann said with a smile coming over her face. "Let's do some karaoke!"

The girls cheered, but I felt my face pale. _NOT NOW!! _But, Ann ignored my mental pleas and started up the machine. Ann picked up the microphone and pointed it to me. "Wanna go?"

I shook my head, feeling somewhat dizzy. "N-N-No… I'll g-g-go later…"

Ann shrugged. "You have to go sometime." I gulped. _Yeah, I know…_

Popuri grabbed the microphone. "I'LL GOOO!"

I laughed at her perkiness, and the music began. Her voice was slightly off, but quite upright and ready for the next note. Overall, a very bubbly voice.

Once the song ended (it was _Do you like Waffles?_ people!), Ann took the microphone. "My turn! Let's go!"

Cupid Shuffle came on. It was a line dance, but Ann was hilarious as she sang. I danced along with the beat. _Now, walk it by yourself; now, walk it by yourself…_

She got on the bed and jumped up and down. We all applauded as the song ended and she landed on her ass, doing a cartwheel on the bed. Elli took the microphone as Ann held it out to her.

The next song was _Barbie Girl_. I smiled although I knew that Mary wouldn't be going next… she's too shy… but I was. Ann wouldn't let me get out of this one. Not. At. ALL… I gulped as Elli's song ended.

I turned and ran out the door before Ann saw me. No one must've heard me, I was so stealthy. But, to my displeasure, I hit something on the way down. I grabbed onto the banister before I fell to the ground. I heard something _else _fall.

I waited for the sound of the girls rushing down to my rescue, but noise came from the room other than giggles from Popuri's new attempt at the songs. I let out a silent sigh and went down the stairs to see what had fallen. Through the darkness, I saw two tangled figures. I ran over to help, not caring who or what it was.

I pulled one up, but found that it'd already been getting up. I saw its height next to me and gasped. "Gray?"

I saw him flinch in the darkness, afraid of the noise, being used to the silence he had to endure as he and the other figure watched the sleepover. Gray helped the other figure up. Gray turned to me and then picked me up and swung me over his shoulder. "Gray, wh-" but Gray had put a hand over my mouth.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see darkness anymore. Light poured through my eyelids. I opened them and saw that I was in the kitchen. I looked around and saw Gray –holding my camera- talking to Cliff. I jumped up from where Gray had put me. "What's going on?" I asked in a whisper.

Gray and Cliff froze up. "Ummmm… uh, nothing!" Gray stammered and then answered a little too quickly. I shook my head.

"Are you seriously video taping this?" Gray gulped and then nodded hesitantly. I sighed.

"…that's pathetic…" Gray looked over at Cliff.

"Um, actually, we were going to send it to Kai…"

"Do you seriously think that's going to make it any better?"

"…no…"

"Then give me my camera, please." I said in an even tone. Gray gave it to me. I looked at the camera and then at Gray with a smile. "Thank you."

Then I narrowed my eyes, but kept my smile. "Now scram."

Gray ran with Cliff at his heels. Cliff may not know how I deal with people taking my stuff… but keeping this up, he might learn. Gray should be a good friend and tell him… no, WARN him.

I went back upstairs, happy. _I was the official sneaky-boy kicker for the night._

**Hi peoples! Music Festival is in the next chapter!!! Wait a da- CLIFF!! GET YO BUTT OVER HERE AND TELL HER!!!!!**


	23. Music Festival

**Chapter 23: Music Festival**

I sat on my bed, sulking again. It was Fall 3rd, the Music Festival. Usually, I would be very excited about it, but this year, I didn't feel myself. Being totally obvious, I still didn't tell Eve yet. I remembered watching her and the girls last night, she seemed so happy, but I felt even more miserable…

I looked up at the ceiling, not as though _it _was going to have any answers… I sighed for the umpteenth time this day and laid down. Gray came in, right on cue. "Let's go, I don't want to miss it this year."

I got up and followed him out of the Inn, silently, might I add. I only had eyes for the ground as we walked. I wasn't in the mood to talk, nor was I usually nowadays… Gray saw me and gave me a look. "Everything OK?"

I nodded. "J-J-Just a little t-tired…" I told him in a meek voice. He nodded and looked ahead. When we finally came to the Church, Carter welcomed us.

"Hello, boys! Good to see you!" Gray smiled at the pastor and I gave him a shy nod.

We sat in the front row of the pews until Gray saw the girls. "I'm going to see where Eve is."

He got up and walked over. I saw him ask them and they nodded, pointing to Carter. I turned and saw carter talking to Eve. She looked shy and flustered. It was clear that she was very afraid of doing this. Part of me wanted to go over and comfort her, but the other reminded me of what the doctor had said. _"Ever think that she just pities you?" _I winced.

It still hurt as much as the day it was said. _Could it be true?... NO! Eve would never pity you… But what if it was all a lie?... Eve wouldn't lie to you! … But what if… but she wouldn't… but…_

I gulped. It was all too much. I couldn't take this anymore. I furrowed my brow and closed my eyes in desperate attempt to get away from the noise that came from the excited villagers… no prevail came.

Suddenly, silence swept across the Church. I opened my eyes and the girls stood in the front of the Church as Carter held up his hand. He smiled at all of us and began. "Thank you, all of you, for coming to this year's Music Festival! This year, Karen, our usual vocalist, is unable to attend. So, today, we have our own Eve singing. Let us all give our undivided attention to this wonderful performance!"

A polite clap went through the crowd, but a larger clap came from above. I looked up, but saw nothing. I returned my gaze to the girls and the performance began.

The group of girls began a song I wasn't familiar with, but I got it once Eve –who first took a shaky breath- and sang.

_I still hear your voice, when you sleep next to me.  
I still feel your touch in my dreams.  
Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why  
Without you it's hard to survive._

My breath was taken away, my heart pounded, and my jaw dropped. Her voice was… her voice was… No words could describe it. Only one word came into my mind, and it was an understatement. …beautiful. Every word that her voice sang seemed real. It seemed to make you believe in what she was saying… everything that she said, err, sang.

_'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side.  
'Cause every time we touch, I feel the static.  
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky.  
Can't you hear my heart beat so...  
I can't let you go.  
Want you in my life._

For a moment, I thought she was singing to me… but that was wrong. She was just… singing. I looked around to everyone else. They were mesmerized by her trance. Their faces were far-off, like they were daydreaming. I looked at the girls, they seemed to be the same way, but they continued to play with out knowing. I closed my eyes and listened again.

_Your arms are my castle; your heart is my sky.  
They wipe away tears that I cry.  
The good and the bad times, we've been through them all.  
You make me rise when I fall._

I opened my eyes and stared at Eve. Her eyes were closed as though the words slipping out of her mouth were so natural, as though everyone sang as exquisitely as she did. Her once flustered and nervous face had changed into a soothed one, which soothed me just by instinct. It was unusual not to be comforted by Eve somehow.

_Your arms are my castle; your heart is my sky.  
They wipe away tears that I cry.  
The good and the bad times, we've been through them all.  
You make me rise when I fall._

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side.  
'Cause every time we touch, I feel the static.  
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky.  
Can't you hear my heart beat so...  
I can't let you go.  
Want you in my life.

I continue to stare at her. I couldn't seem to close my eyes for only a second without having to open them again… I thought of a reason why… but I practically laughed at it. There was no way I was in love with-

_'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side._

Her voice sent a rush of warmth down my spine. Once the song died down, her eyes opened slowly, as if she was afraid to open them. The whole Church stood up and applauded; but it was not just a polite little clap, it was plain _roaring._ Eve blushed and bowed, then held her hand out recognizing the others. She clapped for them as they each took their own bows.

Once the clapping died, Eve walked over to Gray, still blushing. "Well? How was that?"

He shook his head. "I'm very proud of you sis."

She smiled. "Thanks, bro. I'm…" She looked over at a very happy Carter and then returned back her gaze to Gray. "I'm glad I did it."

"G-Good job…" I managed to stutter. She looked at me and smiled.

"Thank you, Cliff." Manna grabbed Eve's shoulder and dragged her off to Sasha and Anna, who were waiting for the songstress and ambushed her with questions concerning her voice.

Gray smiled. "She needed this…"

* * *

Soon, almost everyone had left. Gray had gone home, the girls wanted to have a drink to celebrate, but Eve stayed behind.

She leaned on the pews as May ran over to her. "Miss Eve! Miss Eve!"

"Yes May?" Stu was right behind May.

"Stu says you won't sing ever again!"

Stu crossed his arms over his chest. "Yu-huh! My big sister says that Eve didn't want to sing!"

May looked up at Eve. "You're gonna sing again, right Miss Eve?"

Eve giggled. "I might… only for you two." May's face lit up.

"Really? You will?" Stu blinked a few times.

"But…But…"

"Miss Eve, will you sing to us now?" May looked so hopeful.

Eve bit her lip and looked around, I knew what she was thinking and I ducked down below the pews. She didn't see me. "…Sure, do you mind Stu?"

Stu must've shaken his head. "No! You have a pretty voice Miss Eve!"

"Alright then…" Knowing Eve, she must've smiled at them.

_Go to sleep, say your prayers  
Rest your head upon my shoulder  
Slumber deep and breathe your cares away_

I knew that song… She was singing it. Eve was singing the very song my mother sang to me. I mouthed each word, remembering her voice.

_If I die before I wake  
May I look upon the angels  
Standing by, come to take me home  
Don't you cry, my darling, you are home  
You and I together make a home_

I looked at the two children. Both were gone in her song, their faces obviously telling that they were hypnotized by her sweet, melodic voice. I remembered what came next. It wasn't the lullaby, but a new song.

_There is a child inside my heart tonight  
No one can see that child but you  
If I hold on to you too tight, you understand  
You hold me too_

Lost in my memories, I did what I used to when I heard the song. The next part… was mine. I sang a loud, not realizing it until I saw Eve's stunned façade.

_You are the one who reaches through the dark  
When I'm afraid, you warm the air  
And, when I close my eyes to sleep  
You are my peace, you are my prayer_

Eve's face didn't change. She still stared at me as I walked over to her and the kids. Stu's jaw dropped and May's went into a look of delight as she silently squealed. This part, we sang together.

_You are my home  
You make me strong  
And in this world of strangers  
I belong to someone  
You are all I know  
You're all I have  
I won't let go_

It wasn't the end of the song, but we stopped there. May gasped. "Oh, Cliff! You have a pretty voice, too!"

Stu nodded. "That was cool!"

Eve looked at the children. "He does, doesn't he? Stu, if you learn to sing like that, I'm sure you'll get plenty of girls!"

May giggled, but Stu stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Why would I want girls? They're icky!"

May gave him a push, but Stu thought it was otherwise. He just laughed. "Tag, I'm it!" He chased May out of the Church and they ran down the street, screaming with pleasure.

Eve turned back to me with a bewildered expression on her face. "You can sing?"

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked down. "Y-Yeah…"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"W-Well…" I still looked away, embarrassed.

"It's a really great voice, Cliff. Don't think otherwise." I looked up a little bit and saw that Eve was smiling at me.

"Listen… I got to go home now… I'll see you later…" she said, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "…bye…"

So, she left. I didn't even go over and say bye, or offered to walk her home… I just stood there like a moron.

**ARGH! TELLHERTELLHERTELLHERTELLHERTELLHERTELLHER! -pant, pant- Okay... spasm over... whew... tell her...**


	24. Realization

**Chapter 24: Realization**

Cold air blew around me as I walked around the town, seeming to try and coax me into going back to the nice, warm Inn. I ignored the wind and pushed forward. I didn't care, not one bit. It was Fall 14th… I was going to leave tomorrow…

I closed my eyes, trying to keep my legs to move forward. I had been walking for hours now, in circles. Every time I passed _her _house I turned right back around, and made my way back just to turn around again. _You're just a spineless, little, wimp! No wonder she pities you! You can't even tell her those simple words: I am leaving. No, you just have to keep turning around and trying again, only to fail again. Do it. Just do it already. Do. It. Do. It. Do! It! DO! IT!_

I kicked a rock in my way, only for it to hit something in its way. I opened my eyes to see Eve's door. I did it, well, I made it… now was the hard part…

I raised my hand to knock. It was shaking slightly, and not from the cold. It stayed in midair for a few moments, and then tapped the wood. _Tap, tap, t-tap… _the last one, my hand started to shake even harder.

I waited, and then it opened. Eve stood there, looking slightly tired. She smiled. "Hello, Cliff."

"H-H-Hi…" I stuttered. She opened the door, inviting me in. But, I shook my head. "I-I-I need to t-t-talk to y-y-you…"

Worry washed over her face. "What about?"

I gulped. "I-I-I-I'm… I-I'm…" I couldn't bring myself to it. I remembered telling Gray.

* * *

_"Leaving? Why now?" I looked down, something I usually did nowadays._

_"I d-don't have enough money…"_

_"What about a job? Maybe Grandpa can-"_

_"I-I-I'm sure that you don't need me to w-w-work in a Blacksmith's… I'll break things…" Gray pursed his lips and nodded, understanding._

_He looked up from the ground. "Did you tell Eve?"_

_I closed my eyes, still keeping my face to the floor. Gray shook his head. "Tell her. She needs to know…" I looked up. "Before it's too late."_

* * *

His words were scary. _"Before it's too late…" _It sent shivers down my spine. I tried to tell her again.

"I-I-I-I'm…" She nodded, persuading it out of me. I gulped. "I'm leaving Mineral Town."

"W-What?" I looked down and nodded. "Why? What happened?"

"Money… I-I-I don't have enough…" I looked up and saw Eve had closed here eyes.

"Cliff… I'm going over to the Aja Winery tomorrow and helping them pick their grapes… Would you please help? They're paying." I let my mouth hang open. _I can? I can? I can!_

"Yes! Uh, sure! Yeah, yes, I'll be there! What time?" I asked.

"10'o'clock sharp! Be there!" I nodded.

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you!" I yelled as I turned and ran back to the Inn. I heard her door close as I ran out of her farm. I stopped running and slowed to a walk. I felt so happy, so very happy… But, realization hit me like a thousand blades.

_She did that because… because she really does pity me…_

**Short brief and to the- hey, whoa, whoa, whoa... back it up there! Pity?**


	25. Midnight

**Chapter 25: Midnight**

Rage conquered all of my emotions. The entire time I picked the fruit –I said almost nothing-, when Duke offered me the job –I took it, thanked him, and ignored _her_. The thought of _her_ made me want to spit venom. _Eve… _Just her name made blood rush to my face.

_PITY?! HOW COULD SHE?! HOW __**DARE **__SHE?! After all these months, __**I**__ was the one who brought her home when she was cold and lost on her first day here. __**I**__was the one who showed her the town when she was afraid to speak up. __**I**__ was the one who… who… … how could she?_

The long tirade in my head seemed to take a toll on me. I breathed heavily, still angered by her… her false generosity. I thought… we were friends. I thought that… she cared. I thought many things, but not that. If anything, that she might be… more than a friend.

I grabbed the nearest rock and threw it at a tree, leaving a mark. I looked at it more closely. It was the tree Donna and I had practiced karate on; my brows furrowed. _They__ would only take __her__ side anyway. _I kicked the tree, knocking a few leaves out of its branches' clutches. I panted and then let fury overcome my actions. I kicked, punched, hit; I did anything that seemed to let my anger out. I finally stopped and stared at the tree; it was almost bare.

Once again, I breathed heavily. I sat underneath the tree and stared through its branches at the sky. I whispered. "Please… Harvest Goddess… Why did you make me so easily fooled? After you took my father and mother… my sister you had made vanish before my eyes… and now…" I closed my eyes as a wind blew my face, my long bangs continued to stick to my sweat-covered forehead. My voice shook with antagonism. "W-Why did you m-make me fall in-…"

I couldn't bring myself to say anymore. I got up and ran, not walk, RAN. I ran back to the Inn, where I could drown my sorrows in drinks.

* * *

I'm not a drinker, but now must have been an exception. Hour after hour, drink after drink, I flooded my anger, my misery, my hurt in the grape-flavored alcohol. Doug would try to stop me, but I ignored his pleas and swallowed the next shot. Ann had been gone, so I at least heard no criticism from her. At last, I could extinguish the pain I had endured over my three months with _her. _That _Eve._

I looked at the clock, being drunk makes you have to think harder, but I managed to see that it was almost 11. I heard the doors open to the Inn and turned around only to turn back.

What was _she _doing here? Eve came in, drenched in the rain that had started hours ago. She put her coat on a rack and saw me; I felt her gaze linger on me.

I heard her footsteps come nearer to me. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she stood next to me. "Cliff…?" I furrowed my brow, but she continued to talk. "Cliff, it's obvious something's wrong. Drinking won't help…" I frowned, making the creases in my forehead feel as if they would be there forever.

I didn't look at her; I refused to. Nothing could… I looked. She looked concerned. Doug agreed with Eve. "I think Miss Eve here's got a point, Cliff. I think it's time to call it quits. Go to bed, son."

Eve looped her arms under one of my own, trying to get me up. But, her skinny arms had nothing on me. I got up myself and started to walk up the stairs, swaggering slightly. _She _followed, wanting to make sure I was okay (pathetic…).

Once we got up and were in front of my door, she gave me a pleading look. "Cliff, please, tell me what's wrong. You can tell me anything." her voice and eyes almost fooled me, but my rage returned.

"What's wrong? What's WRONG?!" I yelled, my voice getting louder. "YOU! YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! I can't TAKE it anymore! Just stop it! STOP IT! Stop following me around as though I can't take care of myself!! I can! I don't need some concerned, phony BITCH to watch my every move! I DON'T CARE WHERE YOU GO, **JUST GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME**!"

I panted, it took every breath I had, but I said it. I looked at Eve. I thought she would be mad… angry… anything! But… nothing. I looked at her eyes. All I saw… was hurt. She looked down and then looked straight at me. "Alright then…" she said in an even tone.

Eve turned around and began to walk down the stairs. I opened my door and slammed it behind me. All of the sudden, it flooded back to me. _No… No… NO! _I flew the door open and sprinted down the stairs. _Gone… she was gone…_

I looked at Doug, but he just looked away. He heard everything. I looked at the door, my head begging myself to go. Go find her, go apologize, go tell her… But I stood there. And I kept standing there, until the clock stroke twelve. It was midnight.

* * *

I woke up with a hangover. Well, duh, I woke up with a hangover! All that beer… it made me feel even sicker. But, what made me even worse than that… was Eve.

_Why? Why?! Why didn't I go to her last night?! I may have shown her the town, but she let me out! Out of the Church where I stayed all day, she brought me back to the real world and away from my thoughts that had blinded me… And I turned her away... Just. Like. That._

Day after day went by, and still nothing can of Eve. Gray ignores me, angry glances come my way on the streets, but Dr. Trent seems to be quite pleased with my new found unpopularity. Every time I saw eve's farm down the road from my job, I could do nothing but stare.

Soon, it was Fall 20th… and still nothing. I continued my job, gaining what I needed for my monthly rent at the Inn. But, it didn't seem worth it anymore… I lay in my bed, doing nothing, saying nothing, even thinking nothing, but just merely existing. Gray came in, a sad look on his face.

"Cliff…" I was surprised to hear my name.

"Yeah?"

Gray sighed and looked at me. "Go see her. Now."

I jumped up and ran. I didn't care if Gray thought I was rude or anything, something was wrong. Before another thought came into my mind, I was in her farm and was about to knock on her door, but it opened before I could tap on it. Eve had her back to me and she was carrying something.

"Eve?" She froze up and turned around. Her eyes dulled and looked hurt still.

"Cliff…"

"W-What are those?" She looked what was in her hands; suitcases.

She sighed and gave me a sad look. "They need me, there are children in Flower Bud and they need a teacher. I'm the only one with a certif-"

"WHAT ARE THEY FOR?" I practically yelled. She winced and looked at the ground.

She said it. The only words that could hurt me anymore that could be uttered from her mouth.

"I'm leaving."

**Oh, hell no... CRAP, I'M LOSING MY MAIN CHARACTER!!!! HELP! KIDNAPPING! REDHEAD-NAPPING! CATNAPPING!**


	26. Happy Birthday

**Chapter 26: Happy Birthday**

_No… No… No… No!...NO! _My heart must've stopped. I was numb, very numb. Eve looked up from the ground with a neutral look on her face. "Cliff, I have to give these to Zack, please move."

I couldn't; not one centimeter. She sighed and slid around me. I wanted to run after her, yell at her, beg her, anything that would make her stay… but I stood there.

When the feeling came back to my legs, I wandered back to the Inn. While I may have felt my legs, no emotions seemed to be in my mind. The only thing that was left… was distraught.

_Eve leaving? No, it can't happen…_

* * *

_But it was. _It was Fall 22nd now, and I watched from the entrance of the beach as Eve said her good-byes. All the girls were in tears, especially Ann. She hugged Eve and told her that she had to write. Mary gave her a tiny stack of papers and said something about sending more of her novel later. Popuri sobbed on Eve's shoulder as she said her farewells. Karen gave her a hug and wiped the tears from her eyes that came. Elli bit her lips as she hugged Eve one last time.

May cried into Eve's shirt and Stu tried to hold back his tears… but failed. They gave her a card, which obviously must've said to come back. What hurt the most was when Gray stepped up to her.

Eve looked up at his tall figure, and Gray looked down. I could barely tell that tears had fallen from his eyes, but streaks were striped on his cheeks. Gray bit his lower lip. "Good luck, Eve…"

She smiled a sad smile. "Thanks… you too…"

"It was nice seeing you again."

"It was… Thanks for everything, Gray… I love you, bro."

Gray bit his lip harder. Tears seemed to come back. "I love you, too sis…Happy birthday."

My jaw dropped. _Her birthday… IT'S HER BIRTHDAY! _I watched her nod. "Thanks… Maybe… I could see you guys again…"

They all nodded. I closed my eyes. _Maybe this is just a nightmare… when I wake up, Eve will be back at her farm, reading a book and listening to her IPod… _I opened my eyes and Eve was gone. I looked out at the ocean and saw the boat was already out. Eve stood at the edge, not looking at her tear-stained friends, but at me.

Once our eyes locked, she turned away and walked out of my sight. I fell to my knees. _She's gone… she's really gone…_

I got up from the cold ground and ran. I didn't care where I went, or what I hit, or who tried to stop me… I wouldn't stop until I had no strength left.

It didn't take to long; I was so weak from the impact of the pain I had found. I fell to the ground again, to find myself in the same spot I had before; under the tree I had beaten. I sighed. Everything just had to connect to her now didn't it…?

My whole body seemed to ache, every move I made sent a wave of pain throughout my spine. I just had to rest… stay here for a while…

My head lay against the hard bark and I just breathed, which felt good. My eyes suddenly fell closed and a strange sensation conquered my consciousness. I went into a deep sleep, but not a dreamless one.

* * *

_I opened my eyes to see that I was at the winery. I looked next to me; a basket almost filled with grapes. I shrugged and continued with my work. It was a nice day, the sun slightly setting over Mineral Town. It had been a warm day and was getting only a little cool. I turned to put a bunch of grapes away, when I heard a voice._

_It was young; not actually words, but a cry out. It was happy, whatever had uttered it. I looked up to see a child run to me. I felt awe come over me. It looked… like me. It was a little boy, about three years old. His somewhat long hair was pulled back into a small ponytail and three annoying bangs were in front of his forehead. I couldn't see his eyes; they were closed so tight from smiling so hard._

_He ran to me and hugged my legs, burying his head into my pants. I felt overcome with some sort of joy. I felt… protective of the small child. Like instinct, I picked him up. He laughed and continued to smile. I still didn't see his eyes. Somehow… I knew this child was my son._

_I smiled at him, but he pointed to the ground and I put him down. He started to run about the vines, screaming with pleasure. I smiled again, and then saw another figure run to the brush. I couldn't see the child, but it was shorter, and more fragile. Another wave of joy and protectiveness flooded me and I assumed that it was my younger daughter._

_Going back to my work, I heard my two children run and stumble through the vineyard. I felt a tugging at my legs and I looked down. I smiled. The only thing I saw of my daughter… was her eyes. They were a deep brown, just like mine. I couldn't remember her hair, but when I picked her up, it tickled my arm at the same time as it soothed it. She was smiling at me, and I guessed by her height and facial appearance, that she was about two._

_"Hi daddy." It melted my heart. But what she did next, made me fall apart. She leaned in, gave me a hug around my neck and kissed my cheek._

_I put my hand to my cheek where she kissed it. She smiled and I let her down as she squirmed in my arms. She flew away, after her brother, playing an unknown game to us adults. I looked at the sun setting. But, time didn't seem to matter right know._

* * *

My eyes opened hesitantly; I didn't want to leave the images in my head. But when my eyes did open, only one thing popped in my mind. I got up from the tree's side and sprinted to the beach. The sun had set and it was getting dark. I knocked on the door to Zack's house; Won answered it.

"Yes, how may I help you?" he asked me.

"Tell Zack I need a ride to Flower Bud Village; tomorrow."

**-Heroic music!- HURRY UP CLIFF! HURRY!**


	27. Flower Bud, TALLYHO!

**Chapter 27: Flower Bud, TALLY-HO!**

I yawned. _How long does it take to get to Flower Bud? _I didn't dare to ask Zack, he sort of scares me… I looked out at the front. Nothing but ocean was in my sight. I couldn't wait… but at the same time I wanted to.

_I-I couldn't talk to Eve! I just couldn't… but I had to if I wanted her back. No matter how I looked at it, I needed her. She did so much for me, and now it's my turn to pay her back._

It was early in the morning, about 7. The oceans' mist blew some stray hairs from my face, letting me get a closer look. I closed my eyes though, thinking of how to talk to her. She would NOT want to talk to me right now…

I sighed again as nothing came up. I opened my eyes seeing nothing else to do and saw a tiny speck of land. I perked up immediately. I leaned closer, trying to see it better, but no use, it was too small. "WE'LL BE IN FLOWER BUD IN JUST AN HOUR!" Zack yelled.

I looked ahead and saw that the small land was getting larger. I smiled again; it felt good to smile again. Soon, the boat hit the side of the dock with a **THUMP!**

Instead of taking my time and going down the stairs, I jumped over the railing, landing on the wooden dock. My legs shook at first, but quickly got over it. I ran out to find her.

I ran to the closest house or building I could see and opened the doors. When I entered the building, I was met by a sweet, pink haired woman. "Why, hello there! Don't think I've met you before, how are you today?"

I nodded. "I'm fine, thank you."

She smiled. "My name is Liz, pleasure to meet you. What's your name?"

"Cliff; do you know where an Eve Pomme is?"

She nodded. "I think she's at the new school. She's the teacher, you know. I knew she would end up working with children, she's such a sweet girl."

_I know… _"Thank you." I gave Liz a wave and ran out. I looked down the road and saw another building. I walked over to it and opened the doors.

This time, I was met by the strong smells of wood. I was in a carpenters'.

I looked over and saw two men working. One's head was covered by a red, white, and blue bandanna; he was laughing. "It was really good to see her! You should have came and seen her!"

The other one shook his head. He looked a little… anti-social. "I don't think she would have appreciated it if I showed up. You know…"

The bandanna-ed one rolled his eyes as he continued to smile. "Pish-shaw! I gave her a huge hug like nothing ever changed- Oh, HEY!" he yelled as he saw me. He waved and walked over to me.

"Nice to meet ya! Need anything?"

I nodded. "I need to know where the new school is."

He smiled. "You got a kid going to it?"

I looked down and sighed. "I need to see the teacher…"

"Oh, Eve! Yeah, she's awesome! My wife was telling me how much our kid, Jodi, loved her! The entire time at dinner, Jodi couldn't-"

"Uh, Joe, I think he's still waiting for an answer." The other craftsman told the bandanna-ed craftsman. _So this is Joe. _Joe grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"HEHE! Sorry, there! Why do you need to see Eve?"

I felt my cheeks redden slightly, just the way I would have seasons before if someone asked me. Joe raised an eyebrow and grinned slyly. "Ahhh… me thinks you be crushing on our redhead schoolteacher?"

The other craftsman slapped his forehead and let it slide down his face. I looked the other way from Joe. "I-I just need to talk to h-h-her…"

Joe sighed and shrugged. "Sorry, buddy, I know nothin'. My wife only knows where the school is. Wish I could help!"

The other carpenter moaned, annoyed with Joe's answer. Joe gave him a dirty look. "Well, it's not like you know either, Kurt!"

I refrained my eyes from widening. _No wonder he looked familiar! THAT'S KURT! _Kurt rolled his eyes. "Listen; go over the bridge to the Blue Sky Ranch. Ask for Ellen, she should be able to tell you where the school is."

I nodded. "Thanks."

Joe stopped me from leaving. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Cliff, nice to meet you." I said as I left. Joe waved good-bye as Kurt covered his face, annoyed. But, I could've sworn I saw a hint of panic come across Kurt's face when I said my name.

* * *

I walked down the road and realized how late it was getting. I would have to see this Ellen in the morning; I had to find a place to sleep. I wandered the town, searching for a place that looked like an Inn, but no such luck.

I sighed. _What do I do now? _"Hey, who are you? A tourist?" I looked up and could've sworn it was Gray. He was slightly taller though and looked about 28 or so. I remembered that he asked me something.

"Oh, no, I'm not a tourist. I was hoping to find an Inn or something."

The Gray-like man shook his head and smirked. "Sorry, no Inn here…"

I frowned. "Damn…"

"Why out so late without a place to stay?"

"I-I'm looking for… a friend of mine." _Friend's the only word I can think of… _"She's the new schoolteacher. I was hoping to find her, but I couldn't find the school…"

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. My wife took my son up there in the woods to go to the new school. I have no idea where it is, but maybe my wife can show you in the morning. That is, if you want to stay as a guest at our place tonight."

I smiled. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Sure; say, you look familiar…" he thought for a minute and then smiled. "Do you by any chance know Gray?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he was my roommate back in Mineral Town."

He smirked. "I knew you seemed familiar. Gray's my younger cousin, he writes to me sometimes about Mineral Town. He told me about you before. Oh, sorry, the name's Blue." Blue stuck out a hand for me to shake; I shook it with a smile.

"Cliff, nice to meet you."

"So, you friends with Eve?"

I almost winced, but stopped myself. "Yup." It was all I could say to the matter.

"Well, how 'bout I show you to my place? I'm sure Anne's making dinner right now, so I hope you're hungry."

I nodded. "Yeah, starving."

Blue smirked. "Good. Let's go."

I followed him willingly. It was a short walk to his house. I noticed a farm across the way of his farm and looked at the crops growing; mostly pumpkins.

Blue saw me looking. "Yeah, they have some of the best crops during the Fall. I'll introduce you tomorrow, if you're awake, that is." He said, chuckling at lot that sounded like Gray. "I get up pretty early and school starts at 7 in the morning."

He opened one of the doors and I was met immediately by a young boy, about 5. "Hi!"

I smiled. "Hey."

Blue ruffled the boy's light red hair. "Go get ready for dinner, Red."

"Kay, pa!" The boy ran away to obey his father's orders. I smiled.

"Color scheme?" Blue laughed.

"I guess… it's just a nickname really for Red. His real name is Ryan, but we called him Red from the start." I nodded. _Gray, Blue, and now Red… got it._

"Blue? That you? Dinner's almost ready!" a female voice came from the back.

Blue shouted back. "Alright, Anne! I have some company if you don't mind!"

"Course not! C'mon in!"

We came into the back room to see a dinning room. A woman with light red hair worn in a pony tail came in. She smiled at me as she set plates out on the table. "Welcome, there stranger!"

"Thank you for having me."

"No need to be so formal! What's your name?" She asked now putting silverware in their places.

"Cliff." She smiled and nodded.

"Glad you came! Name's Anne!" Red came in carrying in a tray of food.

"Here, mommy!"

"Thanks sweetie, go ahead and sit down."

"Mom! Don't call me that anymore!" He said, acting annoyed with the term 'sweetie'. I chuckled.

We sat down and ate. Red told stories of his first day of school. "It was awesome! Miss Eve read us stories and played games like tag with us outside! We even did a scavenger hunt. I put a bug on Shelly's shoulder and she screamed!"

Anne narrowed her eyes. "Why did you do that, Ryan Douglas Smith?"

He shrugged. "All the guys were doing it to each other and I thought Shelly would think it was cool. Her dad really likes bugs!"

Anne cupped her face into her hands. "Great, now I'll get a complaint from Louis in the morning…" She turned her attention back to Red. "What did I tell you about bugs?"

He sighed and repeated it in a high-pitched voice. "Bugs may be really cool, but not when it's crawling on your shirt or on your face."

Blue flicked his ear. Red's face scrunched up. "Hey, what I'd do?!"

"Don't do that; it's impolite."

Red pouted in his chair. "Never get to do anything…" he murmured under his breath. I held back my laughter building up inside me. Anne looked up at me and gave a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry for Red's behavior… he still doesn't see the difference between girls' likes and dislikes yet…"

"They don't like bugs?" He asked, curious.

"Not all of them, Red, now eat your dinner." Red obeyed.

* * *

Later that night, once Red was in bed, Anne showed me my room. "Here you go. My cousin-in-law used to sleep here, but now that she's married, you can use it. Hopefully, you'll be awake tomorrow and I can take you to the school. If not, I'll take you there later, okay?"

I nodded. "Thanks, you've all been so nice."

She waved it off. "Nah, don't worry 'bout it! Happy to help! The bathroom's down the hall. Have a nice night, Cliff!" She said before disappearing in her room to sleep.

I went into the room and got into the sheets. I fell asleep almost as soon as I hit the bed. Slumber took over me and I prepared myself for the morning ahead.

* * *

**ROAD TRIP! FINALLY IN FLOWER BUD... -takes deep breath- ahhh... smell that sweet, sweet flowery air... burns my lungs... -cough, cough- someone get me my inhaler... -wheeze-....**


	28. School in the Woods

**Chapter 28: The School in the Woods**

My eyes opened and slowly adjusted to the light pouring through the window. I didn't look at the clock, but got up from the bed –a little too fast, got dizzy…- I stretched and looked out the window. It was another cloudy day, just like yesterday. I shrugged and walked downstairs, finally noticing that no one was there.

I walked into the dinning room and found a note on the table. It read:

_Cliff!_

_Morning sleepyhead! I _was _going to wake you up, but you looked so tired… so, I let you sleep! Sorry, but I had to get Red to school, so I couldn't take you as well. BUT, here are some instructions for you so you can get there yourself! Have a great day and good-luck with your lady friend –wink, wink-!_

_Anne : P_

I blushed at the term 'lady-friend' but cringed at the same time. _Eve might not want to ever see me again… But, I have to tell her._

I flipped the note over to reveal a set of directions to the little school in the woods. I started immediately.

When I opened the door, a cold breeze went right through me, sending shivers down my spine. I looked over at the farm behind the house/shop and saw Blue working in the fields. He looked up from his job and gave me a wave; I waved back and started on my way.

I read the first instruction. _Keep going straight down the road, eventually, you will see another farm to your left. Turn left and follow that path. _I looked ahead and walked. As I strolled down the road, I checked my watch; it was about 10. I sighed and continued.

I noticed a boy, about the same age as Red, was leaning on a tree and staring out at the river. He looked up and saw me. "Who're you?" he asked.

"Cliff; why aren't you at school right now?"

He shrugged and turned his attention back to the river. "Don't wanna. School's stupid, we didn't go to it for years, so why go now?"

I shook my head. "You don't want to miss out on it."

He shrugged again. "Nah, I'm just going to be a blacksmith like my dad. You don't learn that in this school."

"You need to know more than just blacksmithing, you know."

"…I guess…"

"How 'bout I take you to the school, I'm going there myself."

The kid gave me a suspicious look. "You look a little older to go to this school…"

I shook my head. "I'm not going to learn there, I just need to see your teacher."

He looked at me. "Yeah, yeah, let's get this over with." He walked over to me and we walked together to the path with the farm on it.

When we passed the ranch, I saw crops growing in it, but not as nice as the ones in the other farm. The kid looked ahead as he talked. "The name's Ben."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you." We continued a silent walk up the hill. I soon saw a building in the distance. "Is that the school?"

Ben nodded. "Yup, they built it a few weeks ago."

As we neared the school, my heart thudded against my chest, I was certain that Ben must've heard it. _This is it… Eve's in there right now…_

Ben gave me a look. "You okay?"

"Yeah… fine…" It was all I could manage to say. Soon, way too soon, we were in front of the door. _I swear, any moment and my heart will pop right out of my chest!_

Before I could tell him not to, Ben knocked on the door. I heard someone come over and open it. My heart stopped, I went numb, and everything seemed to freeze as I stared at her face. It had only been two days… but they hurt. I was still flooded with guilt for my actions, but the only thing that seemed to take it away… was when I saw her.

Eve stood before the door way and saw Ben first. "There you are! I was wondering where you were! Didn't feel like coming to school today?" she giggled.

Oh, I loved that laugh; I missed it so much. Ben nodded. "I wasn't going to come, but this guy made me." he pointed his thumb to me.

Eve looked up and paled. "…Cliff…"

I had to resist the urge to hold her, to beg her to come back. I managed to find my voice after it had been lost. "Eve…" I breathed out her name, and it felt good to say it.

She stood up straight and gently pushed Ben into the warm room. "Ben, go inside, okay? The others are playing with some blocks, so you go and have fun."

Ben nodded and ran inside. Eve looked down, avoiding my gaze. I wanted to pick her chin up so I could see her face. Her beautiful deep, blue eyes…

"…We'll have to talk later, Cliff…School ends at two…" I nodded. She continued to look down. She turned and closed the door and I turned and sat below a tree, still thinking.

_I found her… I really found her… Now, she won't get away, she won't slip through my grasp again._ I looked at my watch; 12'o'clock. Only two more hours to go.

* * *

_Wow… two hours is a long time… _My eyelids began to droop as sleep tried to overthrow me. I couldn't keep it up for longer… I was exhausted. My heart continued to pound and sweat still lingered on my palms… I felt like a teen again… and that sucks.

My eyes finally closed, and when I opened them, Eve was locking the doors of the school and walking away. I got up in a heart beat. "Eve!"

She heard her name and turned around, only to run away. _No way, Eve… You're not getting away that easily. _I ran after her. "Eve! Stop! We have to talk!"

I finally started to catch up to her. "Cliff, I don't want to! Just leave me alone!"

I let my arm reach out and cut around her waist. I used my other arm and turned her around to face me as I gripped her tightly against me. She looked scared, but it felt so good to be near her like this again. "Please… we need to talk…" I breathed out.

She breathed heavily. "Cliff…" Her voice was so small, so frightened. Her heart seemed to beat faster, I could feel it. Something about me… seemed to scare her.

"Listen to me…" she turned her head away. "Listen to me!" I took my hand away from her arm and put it under her chin to look at me. "There…"

Her instinct was to put her head down, but I kept it up. "Please, Eve, I'm begging you…"

"Why are you doing this to me…?" she whispered. I shook my head.

"Eve, please, don't… don't push me away like this…"

"I thought you said you never wanted to see me again…" she said.

I furrowed my brow. "I was drunk Eve, never listen to me when I'm drunk. I messed up; I didn't mean what I said…"

"Then why'd you say it? It was obviously on your mind." She said. I sighed.

"Eve… I wouldn't ever hurt you…"

"Then why did you say it?" Eve asked. I couldn't answer, I was lost.

Her usual smile, her usual sparkling eyes seemed washed away when she looked at me. I wanted to see her happy, I really did… but I wanted her with me even more. "Why did you say those things?"

I finally came back from my thoughts to see Eve. Her face was frightened, and I wanted to make it go away. "I-I… I don't know…"

She closed her eyes; she had beautiful deep blue eyes. I couldn't stand seeing them so scared, so worried. "…Cliff…?"

"What Eve?"

She opened her eyes. "Please… why did you come here? Why didn't you just leave me be?" Her voice sounded like her voice the day I met her, meek and alone.

I shook my head. "I can't Eve… I just can't…"

"No… why? Why can't you just…" I looked at her desperately.

"I can't leave you Eve… I-" a sudden whistling filled the air. Its annoying noise continued,making me look around; not a person in sight. I finally felt something in my arms fall to the ground. I looked down at Eve, who was holding her petite hands over her ears. "Eve! W-What-"

She shook violently. All she could do was whisper. "Make it stop… please…" I watched her as her shaking died down and she fainted. I bent down to pick her up, but a cold voice came from the woods.

"Don't. Touch. The witch." It was familiar, like I've heard it before. Suddenly, I was pushed into a tree by a tall figure; he held a knife at my throat. "Got 'im. You can come out now." It was Kurt.

Figures came out of the trees, most of them being tied up. I looked closely and gasped. It was the girls. Each had bonds holding their hands behind their backs (for some reason, Shawn and Sage wore muzzles…) Two other figures were pushed forward and onto the tree next to me. Gray and Kai… (_Why are they here?_) They looked scared, but not for themselves, it seemed. I watched as one figure picked up Eve's body and tied her hands together.

This one man, he seemed to click to my memory. Something about him, how his eyes lingered on Eve, how he smirked at the other frightened girls, it made me realize who he was. Anger built inside me as I hissed his name. "Dan."

**Ohhhh...tension... What's Cliff going to do?**


	29. Willows Shadows

**Chapter 29: Willows Shadows**

Dan smirked. "Ah, you must be Cliff." He studied me and gave a 'humph'. "Pity. I thought Eve would have had better taste." I narrowed my eyes.

Kurt stood in front of Gray, Kai, and me. I gave the other two looks. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I don't know! One minute I was walking home, the next, I was here." Gray said shaking his head. Kai smiled sheepishly.

"Hehe… Ethica and I were making out…" I slapped my forehead.

I looked up at the girls; they looked almost terrified, except for Eve. She was still unconscious. I stared at her motionless body as a man with purplish hair dipped her bounded hands in a mixture. When he took them out, they were covered in cement. Dan noticed me staring. "Can't be too careful, can we? We don't want any… accidents…"

I looked at the other two; they seemed a little more preoccupied with their troubles. Kai watched with helplessness as Ethica was tied to one of the trees. Gray looked pissed as Sage shook her head, trying to get the muzzle off of her face.

I turned away from them and watched Dan. He seemed pleased with how smoothly his plan was doing… whatever it was. He walked over to Eve's still body and pushed a stray hair out of her face, letting his finger linger over her lips. Blood rushed to my face. "Don't touch her." I demanded.

Dan looked up and laughed. "What makes you think that you have the right to make orders, Cliffy? Right now…" He smirked. "I'm in control."

I looked over at Eve when I heard something stir. Eve's eyes fluttered open, unsure with where she was, but then gasped when she remembered. I looked down, feeling powerless. I couldn't do anything…

Dan stood up from where he had crouched down next to Eve. He began to speak with the group. "Thank you all for coming… I'm glad we could have this… little reunion." Eyes narrowed in his direction. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering by now what my little plan is… it's simple really." He looked in Eve's direction. "Once I found out what you girls really were-"

"You knew?!" Gray shouted. Dan narrowed his eyes.

"Yes… may I continue? Now, once I found out that these little girls happened to be witches… I did some research-"

"You can read? That's a shocker!" Sage said through her muzzle.

"What you really look at, a picture book?" Ethica asked, rolling her eyes.

The girls cracked up, but Dan took out a small whistle from around his neck and blew into it. Once he did, all the girls curled up in pain. I watched helplessly as Eve writhed on the cold ground with anguish. Dan took the whistle away from his lips and smiled. "That's better…"

All the girls looked so vulnerable, so weak; they all drooped as the noise was over. They breathed heavily, as if it made them hold their breaths. "As I was saying… I found out something interesting. Based off of your talents as a supposed human, I have found out what type of witches you are."

Gray's jaw dropped open. "Why's that bad? What's wrong?" I whispered.

"He's… he's…"

"Yes, yes Gray… I can, and I will…" He said, smiling an all too evil smile.

Gray actually looked… terrified. "What?" I asked, getting more panicked.

"I… can kill them." he said plainly.

I felt like the ground beneath my feet had just given away. My heart pounded against my chest, about to break free. I broke out in a cold sweat and all I could do was stare at Eve. _He… he could… kill her?_

Eve stared at her family and paled. "No… please… Dan don't… don't do anything to them…"

Dan smirked at Eve's pleas. "Sorry, can't do."

Eve closed her eyes. "Let them go… all of them, including Gray, Kai, and Cliff… and…" She took a deep breath. "You can just take me."

My jaw dropped open. _No… say no… say no! _Dan tapped his forefinger thoughtfully to his chin. "…Really?" _**NO!**_

"If you let them go." She said plainly. I heard a growl, like a cat. I looked over at Sage; she began to shake and snarl. Next to her, Shawn began to screech, like a falcon. The girls began to scream. "No! Please! Don't! Anything, we'll do anything!"

Dan smiled. "I think I have a better idea… who has a spell book on them?"

Lynn nodded and winced as the bonds around her hands chaffed. "I do. It's in my bag."

"Jamie, go get it." Dan told the purpled-haired man. Jamie nodded and went to the bag and took out a medium-sized book with a deep green covering. "Now, give it to me." Jamie obeyed.

Dan flipped through the book until he hit a page and smiled. "Here it is…"

"What spell, Dan?" Kurt asked. Dan smiled.

"I'm glad you asked! It's the power transferring spell, or as I like to call it: The best Damn spell ever!" He looked over the page and grinned. "Oh, yes… this will do…"

He looked around at us. "It sys that it'll take only one magic supply…" he looked at Eve at the corner of his eye. "It needs to be taken forcefully, and it will be very, very, _very _painful…" He said smiling in the end.

"You can't! You can't do this!" Noelle cried.

"What is it?" Kai asked Gray. Gray's face was emotionless, but his voice was scared.

"They're… going to take her… her magic out of her…"

I furrowed my brow. "But, she will be okay… right?"

Gray closed his eyes. "T-The spell is controlled by who casts it… If Dan wants her power… he'll get it, but it-" He stopped and took a deep breath. "It… c-could kill her."

I shook my head as my body went numb; Dan smiled. "Well, now that we've all been caught up in this wonderful little learning fest…" He looked over at Eve. "I have to prepare for the main event."

Dan walked away, getting ready, as Kurt and Jamie kept watch over us. Eve sat on the ground, staring at her family. No sadness, no anger, no distress… she actually looked happy. I felt my heart breaking slowly as I knew by the end of the night… _Eve might not be with us._

* * *

About three hours had gone by and still no Dan had shown up. Eve and Lannie had been exchanging some weird looks at each other, but no one seemed to care right now. Kurt leaned against the tree Gray, Kai and I were bound, but not tied to. I guessed Dan wanted to threaten one of the girls if we stepped out of line, just to rub the fact that he was in charge in our helpless faces.

Suddenly, Dan appeared out of the trees, cursing under his breath. "Getting to damn, freaking cold for- What's going on?"

Gray, Kai, and I gave him a look of confusion. Dan's eyes widened... With fear. "No…" We turned our attention away to look over at the girls.

All of them had terrified expressions on their faces as they silently screamed. Slowly, a mist spread across the floor of the clearing we were in. Donna was the first one to finally form words. "HELP!"

The girls' silent screams became audible as they tried to slink away from the mist. What was scary about this mist… was that it was black. Soon, the haze grouped together and rose to form nine figures. Each creature had beady, silver eyes and a long, twisted mouth. Instead of lips, teeth were attached to its' mouths'. They had long, skinny arms and torsos, almost like skin and bones. Their fingers were an enormous length, falling to their (where there should be) ankles. But as you looked at their supposed 'feet', it was just a wisp of black smog that flowed with the breeze.

The blackness of the creatures' seemed almost too black, like it was surreal. But, coldness seemed to cover the area that reminded me… it was real. Gray's mouth hung open. "No… It can't be…"

"What are they?" Kai screamed over the shrieks from the girls.

"They call them Willow Shadows. They supposedly come from dead weeping willow trees. They… they like to feed off of witches' souls…"

Kai turned back to the girls. His jaw now fell open, too. I watched as Lannie ran to defend Lynn, who was trying to fight off two of the Willow Shadows. With horror overcoming my face, Lannie and Lynn screamed as the two shadows swung their massive claw-like fingers at them, and shredded them into wisps that seemed to faze away. Noelle screamed.

We were about to get up and help, but Kurt pointed a knife at us. "No one moves…" But, I noticed the fear come over his face as Noelle screamed again.

Ethica kicked at a shadow as it started to grab Noelle. It turned around and screeched. It was the same noise the whistle made. Ethica fell to the ground with a **thud**. Kai's face paled. "NO!"

The shadow didn't even hesitate as it swiped its claws through her and let her faze away just like Lannie and Lynn. Kai let his head fall as he sobbed. Gray's eyes widened with fear as one shadow lunged at Shawn, but Sage kicked it in the (what we call) gut. It fell back, but lunged forward again, and managed to get both girls with one strike. Gray's face paled and he stared at where the two had once stood.

Noelle covered Apple with her body as two shadows crept in. Apple screamed as both shadows swung their hands and made them disappear, too. Donna was backed into a tree as a shadow boxed her in. With one final slash… Eve was the last witch left.

She shook violently as the nine Willow Shadows vanished, and only four remained. _Wait… there were only nine in the beginning… _One looked straight at me and I felt my blood freeze. Its beady eyes were blood red.

Eve looked closely and saw the same thing I did. Her face… was entirely petrified. I had never seen her this scared, never.

Eve screamed. The four shadows began to draw near her, making her shake. She backed up until she could back up no more. The shadows drew closer… and closer... and closer… I couldn't stand it any more.

I ran. I ran passed the threatening Kurt, passed the obedient Jamie, passed the cursing and paled Dan straight to Eve. I finally reached her and shielded her from the creatures, only to feel a ripping sensation throughout my body that made me yell in pain. I didn't see the horror in my friends' faces, nor the Flower Bud girls reappear from nowhere and scream, nor the sheer terror in Eve's eyes. All I saw… was total darkness.

**NOOOOOO! CLIFF! Well, at least he told her!**


	30. No Cry

**Chapter 30: No Cry**

I couldn't open my eyes, they were so heavy. Something was on my chest, it wasn't heavy, but I felt it; it shook slightly every few seconds. My chest felt damp. _Was it blood?… no, I don't feel any pain… I would definitely feel some pain if I was bleeding…_

My body seemed to dismiss my orders, refusing to open my eyes and search for Eve. That was the only thing that came to my mind… and the fact that I couldn't move. The thing on my chest shook again, but it was more like a shiver.

Still, I had no idea what was happening outside of my thoughts. At last, I managed to open my eyes enough to get an idea of what was around me, but no one would probably see that I was awake.

I saw a mass of red on my chest, and at first I thought it _was_ blood, but it shivered. It was Eve.

I watched her pick up her head from my chest and wrap some of her hair behind her ear. Her cheeks were stained with tear-lines and her eyes were… covered in guilt. A sob came through her lips and she covered her mouth with her hand and let it cover her eyes instead. "Oh, goddess…" she whispered.

I watched her continue to cry. _Eve… never cries. I've never seen her cry once; when her friends left, when she left, while the shadows attacked… not a single tear. _She took her hand from her eyes and placed it on her lap.

I looked around through my much narrowed eyes. We were still out in the woods. I turned my attention back to Eve as soon as I figured that out. She stared down at the ground. She shivered as a cold wind blew over. "I-I'm so sorry… y-you…" _she was talking to me. _Another tear rolled down her freckled cheek. "Y-You might die because of m-me…"

Her hands went back to her face as she silently cried. I finally got some feeling in my fingers and raised my hand to her face. I brushed some hair out of the way so I could see her better. I remembered Elena's technique to deal with her sister's crying. "No cry, Eve. No cry…" I whispered loud enough for her to hear.

Her hands fell from her face as she stared in disbelief at me. "C-Cliff…"

I managed to smile. "Hey."

She smiled as tears came back to her eyes. "Oh, g-goddess, I-I thought you were d-dead… w-we found no pulse a-and-"

I picked up her hand and put it on my chest. I let her feel my heartbeat. "I'm alive now, aren't I?" She nodded as she still stared at me. I smiled. "Then there's no point in crying, now is there?"

She took her free hand and wiped away the tears that had come to her eyes. "I-I just thought-"

"You think too much, Eve; don't worry."

She bit her bottom lip. I smiled at her. Her eyes seemed to sparkle a little more and a smile began tugging at her lips… I studied her, taking her in, relieved that she hadn't taken her hand back when I reached for it, or that she turned away when I brushed her hair out of her face.

I felt a lump form in my throat. I don't know if she didn't see it yet… but I loved her. I loved her so much. No matter how much she could turn me away, I would always come back. I watched her as she played with the hem of her dress. She was still wearing her clothes from the school.

I started to sit up, but Eve put her hand on my shoulder. "C-Cliff… y-you should r-really rest… d-don't try to sit up just y-yet…"

I smirked. _Still caring as ever… _"I'm fine." She gave a look of helplessness as I sat upright. I smiled, assuring her that I was fine. I laid one of my hands over hers and she flinched very slightly. "Actually, are _you _okay?"

She looked down, but I picked her chin up with my free hand. She looked sad. "W-When… w-when the shadows came after the g-girls… t-they were fake."

"What? B-But the girls-!"

"L-Lannie made the shadows… she can make images appear and seem so real… t-that you can believe them."

"But… that's not all, is it?" I asked when Eve's eyes closed.

"No… s-she only made n-nine shadows…" she said, her voice shaking.

I remembered that; nine shadows had disappeared, but four were left and they all had red, beady eyes. "What about the four left?"

Eve bit her bottom lip again. "…T-T-They were r-real…"

I raised my eyebrows. "They were?"

She nodded and gave me a desperate look. "I-I t-tried to stop you, b-but you were too fast! A-And-"

I my index finger to her mouth, silencing her. I smiled. "Even if you did warn me…" I looked her straight in the eyes. "I wouldn't have stopped."

She paled. "B-B-But you c-c-could have been killed!"

I shook my head. "Eve… I wouldn't have cared."

Eve's face paled even more so. "B-But…"

I looked down at the ground and then stared at the sky. "What do you think you would've done if it was Sage out there, going to get massacred by one of those things?"

She gave me a curious look, but a serious answer. "I would've been out there in a heartbeat."

I turned to her. "Same thing."

She bit her lip and nodded. "Okay… I get it."

I smiled. "Good."

We looked up at the sky for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying the other's company. Without her noticing, I slipped my gaze from the now starry sky to Eve. She finally looked calm, back to normal. The stars were reflecting off of her eyes, making them sparkle more than usual. A slow smile crept over her face that made me smile, too.

I continued to watch her as her face suddenly lit up. "What?" I asked.

She smiled at me, which made me blush slightly. "Shooting star! It's still going, right… there!"

I followed her finger and saw the tail of the star as it flew away. She closed her eyes as she made her wish. I smiled at her childish nature. "What did you wish for?"

"I can't tell!" She said in mock horror. "Who would ever tell their wishes? Then they don't come true!"

"Really?"

"Yes, really! You seriously need to connect with your inner kid again, Cliff."

I smirked. "I guess do…"

She gave me a look. "Something on your mind, Cliff?"

I thought for a moment. _Do I dare ask her? What would she say? _Eve's calm voice penetrated my thoughts. "What is it?"

I sighed and decided to go straight for it. "Eve… do you love me?"

Her mouth fell open slightly. "I-I-I…"

I felt hope slip away. _It's a little too good to be true anyway… Why bother… an amazing girl like her and… me… just too good…_

I watched Eve look at the ground. I almost sighed, but her voice stopped me.

"Yes, I love you Cliff."

**AWWWWW!!! SO SWEET! How does Cliff react?**


	31. Escape Route

**Chapter 31: Escape Route**

My heart probably stopped. I couldn't breathe. My mouth was dry. _Eve… loves me. _I was probably going to scream. _SHE LOVES ME, SHE LOVES ME! _Eve put her hands over her mouth, surprised that she said it. "Oh, I-I shouldn't have said t-that…"

"No..." I smiled at her. "You probably shouldn't have..." I pulled her close to me... that wasn't the best of ideas. When she pulled back, she looked over my shoulder and gasped.

"Oh, no…"

Dan glared daggers, not at Eve, but at me. "Just what… do you think… you're doing?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Yeah, not a lot to say about that… "Uhhh…"

"Get away from her." He commanded. Before I could answer, he walked over to me and swung a punch. I fell back as Eve gave a tiny shriek.

"What are you doing?!" Eve asked as I rubbed my cheek that had been hit. Dan didn't answer, but glared at me still. I glared back. Finally, Dan broke it and walked away. Eve sat next to me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… we got to get out of here…" I moaned as the side of my face continued to hurt. She looked concerned as she gently put her hand on my face to get a better look at where the hit blew.

"Oh, that's going to be a bad one…" She whispered, still looking at it.

I looked around the clearing. Everyone was still there, bounded. This time, Gray and Kai were backed into the area with the girls. I watched Kurt play with his knife and I shuddered.

I turned back to Eve and saw her looking at the stars again. I smiled at her finally calm façade. "We do have to get out of here…" She pursed her lips and looked at the ground. "But I have no idea what to do…"

I sighed. "Me neither…"

Eve looked defeated. "I don't want him to go anywhere near the girls, though."

"So, what? Are you just going to hand yourself over to him, just to let them go?" I asked.

She looked down. "…If I have to…"

I frowned. "That's not going to happen when I'm here."

"Then what can we do?" She asked still staring at the ground. I bit my lip and didn't answer. There was none. Eve wouldn't let _anyone _harm those girls, even if it meant her… her life.

"Eve?" I asked her. She looked up at me. "Just don't do it."

She looked at me sadly and then shook her head. "I'm sorry, Cliff…" She looked at the ground again. "I have to."

I almost yelled at her. "No, you don't. You don't have to do anything!"

She ran her fingers through her hair and gave another sad look at me. "I'm sorry Cliff…"

I just stared at her. _She was going to let him do it… she was going to let Dan kill her, just that willingly. _I whispered. "I thought you said that you loved me."

She closed her eyes. "I do."

"The why would you do this to me?"

She looked up with hurt eyes. "Because that's what family does. All of you guys; the girls, Gray, Kai, you… you're all my family and I can't let you get hurt like this."

"Then let's get out of here."

"I get it… just let me think…" I sighed.

"…fine." Eve stood up and paced around. Dan watched her in a way I felt uncomfortable. It was like… someone eyeing a prize. I glowered at him, feeling blood coming to my face. He smiled at my uncomfortable-ness.

Eve closed her eyes as she thought. She pursed her lips and tapped her index finger on her lips. She would shake her head and give looks at the girls. Nothing seemed to become a permanent escape route, though.

Dan walked away from us and began to look over Lynn's spell book again. Eve's eyes popped open and a smile overcame her face. She sat down next to me and grinned, but went neutral when Dan looked up from the book. Once he looked back to the bewitched pages, Eve went back to smiling. She whispered. "Rosie."

I furrowed my brow. "Who's Rosie?"

"Sage and my dog! Well, actually, pet. Oh, you'll understand in due time." She said after I gave her a weird look.

Eve stood up. "Can I talk to the girls?" she asked Kurt. Kurt shook his head.

"You're to be excluded from the others, Dan's orders." he stated.

Eve rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, why listen to him? He's not the boss of you."

Kurt gave her a dark glare, but Eve smiled. "Dan's orders." He coldly repeated.

Eve sighed and sat down again. She looked over to see if no one was looking and took out her locket. Once she opened it and revealed the blue sapphire inside of it, she pressed her thumb against it. I looked over and saw Sage look away from the sky that she was looking at and turned her attention to Eve. Eve held up one finger, and Sage nodded.

Eve picked up a flower and showed it to Sage. Sage tilted her head in confusion. Eve sighed and barked out loud. Even though everyone else gave her weird looks, Sage and the other girls nodded. I watched Sage take out her locket and open it. Her thumb pressed whatever was inside of it and then she closed it and let it fall back onto her throat.

Eve sighed in content and then looked away to the sky when Kurt gave her a look. She smiled at me and I gave her a blank stare. "What now?"

She smiled again. "Now, we wait."

I dumped my head into my hands. "I'm pretty sick of waiting."

She rolled he eyes. "Be patient, Mr. Grumpy."

I stuck my tongue out at her and she did the same. "At least I'm not acting like a child." I said.

"You started it!" She said, pointing at me.

"You want to take this outside?" I asked in mock anger.

"WE ARE OUTSIDE!" She laughed.

_Oh, yeah… _"Whoops." I said, shrugging.

"How can you forget?"

"Give me a break…" I said, folding my arms over my chest.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…"

I sighed and looked up at the sky. "I'm getting bored…"

"You and everyone else here…" Eve murmured. _Hey, if you've been trapped outside for several hours, you get pretty bored!_

Suddenly, an earth-shaking roar pierced the night, making my heart practically stop. A colossal shadow covered the clearing as I stared in terror as the titanic creature let another roar rip through the darkness, making my eardrums shatter. Eve jumped up and let out a happy noise. She began to talk baby-talk. "Aw! Who's a good little girl? You are! Did you miss mommy Eve-y, Rosie?"

* * *

**Who's a cute little monster? Who's a cute little terrifying creature? You are! You are!**

**Alright, this is all I can upload for now. Until my computer stops spazzing... SEE YA! I MISS YOU ALL!**


	32. To Flee Only to be Caught Again

**I just found out a way to update! -Happy parade music- It'll take longer for me to upload, but it'll be worth it for you readers. For the chapter your about to read, there are some terms you may not exactly know or understand. I have made you a dictionary at the bottom of the page, so please, check any word that has a * next to it. With no further notes, welcome to:**

**Chapter 32: To Flee Only to be Caught Again**

My mouth hung open. The beast was easily 30 feet high. It was covered with dark brown scales and plates were aligned down its back. Its slit eyes were fierce, but intelligent, and a rich shade of brown. It rose up on its hind legs and let out another roar as its snout huffed out a large amount of steam in the dark, cold night.

The creature seemed to smile at the terrified faces of Dan and his shadows. It breathed deeply and dug its claws into the earth… which actually was pure rock, but it made it look easy.

Dan took out something from his belt and fired it at the creature; it was a gun. But, it ricocheted off of the beast's breast and flew off to who-knows-where. Dan let the gun fall out of his trembling hand as he shouted. "DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"

The girls, Gray, and Kai ran from where they were sitting. Apple's tied hands got caught on a tree's root and Eve ran to her rescue. I tried to grab Eve's hand, but she was too swift. She ran to her side and easily got her out, but Kurt was in front of her way. He pointed the knife at her, but she seemed unfazed. She looked in the other direction and paled. Kurt looked in that direction and Eve ran the other way as he didn't realize nothing was there. We crowded around Rosie's legs as Eve and Apple ran to us.

Rosie lowered one of her wings and let everyone on. But, we couldn't all fit onto the gigantic animal's back. Eve jumped down from the creature. I looked at her in alarm.

"Are you nuts?!" I asked, but she waved her arm, calling me down.

"Hurry!" she shouted. I jumped down and Rosie began to flap its wings, lifting off. Kai screamed.

"YEAH, BABY!!!! I'M RIDING A DRAGON!! WHO KNEW THAT COULD HAPPEN?!"

Eve whistled and two brooms appeared out of nowhere. Eve jumped on one and began to float upward. "C'mon, Cliff!"

I hesitantly got onto the other one, but once I did, it lurched upward and sped off. I gripped the front until my knuckles were paled. I closed my eyes and then opened one when the speed died down. I looked down; the clearing was just a tiny oval in the small woods below me. I laughed.

Eve came up next to me and smiled. She was riding side-saddle and acted as if it was the most natural thing ever. "Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" I asked.

"What do you think of flying?" her broom began to sway from side to side. She continued to smile.

"It's… interesting…" I said looking down again. She laughed.

"This is one of the few only things you humans get right about us witches! We _do_ fly brooms!" She gave me a confident smile. "Watch this."

She grabbed the pole of the broom with one hand and sped forward. She did a flip. I laughed. "Cool!"

She rolled over once, making her upside down. Her red hair spilled down, leaving it in a mess of curls. She let go of the broom and laughed. "No hands!"

I looked my broom and tried to shift it to do the same. It did… but a little too many times. I rolled over a couple of times and finally got back upright. I gripped the pole again so that my knuckles were white.

Eve giggled. "Take it slow, we'll teach you the tricks and stuff later."

I nodded and looked ahead to see Rosie flying. I sped up my broom to catch them. I heard Eve's broom follow behind. I swerved from side to side, learning to control it. Eve watched me with a smile. "Great!"

Soon, we were next to her dragon. Everyone looked up shouted. "Hey!"

I waved to them. Eve swooped down and curved around her pet. I heard Rosie give a happy grumble.

Suddenly, a blast came from behind us. I turned around to see a huge net hurdling toward us, I swerved out of the way, but Eve wasn't so lucky. She was covered by the web and, somehow, it flew back to wherever it came from… with Eve still in it.

I curved my broom to turn around and it obeyed. I flew as fast as I could to get the mesh, but no prevail. To my horror, it vanished.

* * *

"Where is she?!" I yelled. The girls shook their heads.

"We don't know, Cliff." Shawn said in a calm voice, but she was obviously worried, too.

I put my fist against my forehead and leaned against the wooden frame of the school. We had landed there after Eve disappeared. Kai came over and put his hand on my shoulder. "You 'kay?" he asked softly.

I pursed my lips. "Yeah…" Another way of saying 'no'.

Kai nodded, understanding what I meant and sat next to Ethica, who had her hands holding up her head.

"We all know why he's using her…" Ethica murmured.

The girls and Gray nodded, but I turned around, worried. Kai seemed to think the same thing. "Why?" I asked.

Sage sighed. "Eve's… a special kind of witch. There's not many of her kind anymore. It's like… an endangered species of witches. Well, anyway, one of her 'talents' is the ability to give power, strength. She's able to do this by her voice; her singing especially."

Lannie continued with a look of fear coming over face. "It's said that in the medieval times many would pay a high price for such witches. Just to hear them talk, it would cost about 20 silver pieces. So many merchants would get rich because of enslaving the witches and renting them like that."

Gray slammed his fist on the table. "Are you saying he's selling her out just to get a quick buck?!"

Lynn closed her eyes. "It's possible; he still has my book, so he might have done a Time Traveling Spell."

Gray closed his eyes, too. "Damn it…"

Sage got up and put a hand on his shoulder. Ethica covered her face lightly with her hand. I stared emotionlessly at the table, like it would have any answers… "We have to go after her." I stated plainly.

Shawn stood up and nodded. "Cliff's right. Eve would do this for us, and we need to do it for her." They all nodded as Shawn continued. "We can only have a few people go at once. I think Cliff, Gray, Sage, Ethica, Kai, and I should go. Lannie, Lynn, Donna, Apple, and Noelle, stay here to keep the townspeople unaware of what's happened and someone teach the school for Eve, okay?"

They nodded again. Sage looked at the girls who were staying. "You guys have to go and think of a story. Keep it simple, remember?"

They smiled and gave their good-byes. As they did, Lannie came over to me. "You'll find her Cliff. Don't worry so much."

"Thanks Lannie."

"Remember what Eve says… 'You just need to see the good in people'." I gave her a weird look, but she just smiled. "You'll thank me later…"

I nodded and the girls left. Sage went to Eve's desk and rummaged around in the drawers. "It's gotta be in here… AH-HA!"

Sage pulled out a book with a blue covering on it. It was old and worn, not at all like Lynn's spell book. The pages were dusty and yellowed with age. "This is one of the Pomme's original spell books…" she said with awe in her voice.

Shawn and Sage scanned each page carefully until both uttered a 'yes!' Shawn spoke first. "Here's the Time Traveling Spell! It's easy. We should be able to go whenever we want. But, we need to prepare first…"

"Why? Let's just go now!" Kai said.

"We need weapons and clothes that are appropriate for that time." Shawn said.

Kai looked down at his clothes. "Oh…"

Ethica giggled. Sage pulled up her jeans to show a dagger strapped around her ankle. "I'm all set with the weapons category."

Gray flicked her ear; Sage fumed. "What was that for?!"

"For being a hostile idiot!"

"Take one to know one!"

Ethica whacked both of them upside the head. Shawn shook her head. "Can we just get ready?"

We nodded as Gray and Sage just rubbed the back of their sore heads. Shawn flipped through the book again and pointed to another spell. "Here's a good one; the Seamstress Spell. It allows the bewitcher to clothe the bewitchee in any way."

Ethica clapped once and rubbed her hands together. "Perfect! Let's get started! How many to a spell?"

Shawn read aloud. "Three to a spell. That means we need to cast it three times; once for the guys, I'll cast it on you two, and then one of you girls will cast it on me!" she put the book down on the table and rubbed her hands. "Alrighty… Guys, stand… over there! Ready?"

We stood still, anxious. "This isn't going to hurt right?" Kai asked.

Shawn waved the thought off. "Of course not! You won't feel a thing!" She put out her hands in front of her and her fingertips seemed to wave. She pronounced some unintelligible words not known to us humans.

She was right, I felt nothing. At first, I thought it didn't work, but the girls' expressions told us that it did. "Wow! I'm good!" Shawn said with a huge smile.

I looked at the other two. They each wore chainmail* and a tunic over top of it. Gray wore a dark blue tunic with a dark leather belt. Kai wore a deep purple tunic with an emblem on the front –a rearing lion.

I looked down at myself and found that my clothing was similar to theirs. I still wore the chainmail but had a dark green tunic and a belt like Gray's. I also had an emblem on my tunic, a lion… but it had wings?

Ethica clapped as she jumped up and down. "You guys look great! I love how the colors relate to you guys!"

"What do you mean?" Kai asked.

"Well…" Ethica said, tapping her finger on her chin. "Gray's tunic is blue, symbolizing in truth and loyalty." Gray took a look at his tunic and smiled. "Kai, yours is purple, symbolizing in justice." he gave a cheeky grin. "And Cliff, yours is green, symbolizing in hope and loyalty in love." She ended with a smile on her face. "Isn't that cute?"

Kai laughed. "How'd you know this stuff?"

"We used to play games like that when we were little, knights 'n stuff." She said shrugging.

Shawn turned to the girls. "Your turn!" They giggled as Shawn recited the alien words. Sage and Ethica stood before us in Medieval Timed dresses. Sage fumed again.

"I'm not wearing this, Shawn…" she said, narrowing her eyes. Sage wore a silver-gray dress that fell to the floor, draping around her feet. "I can't breathe…"

"It's the girdle*, silly. You'll get used to it!" Ethica said, gazing at her dress. It was a rich chocolate brown that was tied at the waist by a gold rope. It slit down the middle revealing a new material that looked coarse, but sparkled as she swayed in it.

Shawn handed the book to Ethica. "Okay, my turn! Hit me!" Ethica repeated the words and Shawn wore an olive green dress that was similar to Ethica's, but had a gold bow instead of a rope. Shawn smiled. "Oh, I like it!"

Sage continued to frown. "Can I please have some extra clothes?"

Shawn gave a huff and looked at the book. She clicked her tongue. "Fine, it says I can actually 'make' clothes with this spell, any way I want, too."

"Good." Sage said, sighing out of relief. "Some Medieval peasant clothes, preferably a boys'." Ethica nodded.

"Same here; you might need some too, Shawn." Shawn nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable." She recited the words and three peasant boy clothes laid perfectly folded on the table. "There, shall we get weapons?"

"What kind of weapons should we have?" I asked. Shawn flipped through the book as she replied.

"I can't say; it says here…" she read aloud. "That I can only create a weapon for you, not choose it. So, whatever you get is your destined weapon I guess…"

"Oh great… another fate spell…" Ethica said, twinkling her fingers.

Shawn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah… just get over here so I can do it only once."

We all crowded around Shawn and listened to her deliver the incoherent words. In our hands, were the weapons she had brought. Kai held a dirk*, Gray grasped a war hammer, Ethica grabbed a trident*, Sage gripped a staff, Shawn clasped a poniard*, and I clutched a flame-bladed sword*.

I touched the cool blade and shuddered. _It's too cool… _Shawn looked up from her dagger and smiled. "Are we ready?"

We all nodded, still absorbed in our tools. She whispered the incomprehensible expression, and we were whisked away from Flower Bud Village to about 600 years in the past…

* * *

**DICTIONARY

* * *

**Chainmail- a type of armour that consists of small metal rings linked togetherin a pattern to form a mesh-like material.

Girdle- a elastic-like material used to enhance a person's torso.

Dirk- short dagger or a cut-down sword.

Trident- three pronged spear.

Poniard- lightweight dagger.

Flame-bladed Sword- sword with the blade's wave like appearence as flames. Overlooking its decorativeness, it is also good in combat.

* * *

**Thanks for eing bsuch dedicated readers! You're awesome!! -Eve :D**


	33. From a Songbird to Dove

**Chapter 33: From a Songbird to Dove**

I shuddered… and shuddered… and shuddered some more. It was Fall, as Dan had heard, and it was cold. Kurt kept a close watch on me with knife at the belt and Jamie continued to follow Dan around like a butler. Dan… oh, he still scared me; every move I made was his decision.

Right now, I was outside a merchant's hut as Dan, Kurt, and Jamie spoke to the merchant. They didn't know much about selling, so they decided to go to a professional and split the profit. I felt like some kind of… prize to be won. I shuddered again, but not because of the chilly breeze.

Kurt came out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the dark hut. There were trinkets everywhere; you had to be careful not to break anything. There was dust in the air and on the items to be sold. I coughed once and went back to being silent. Kurt kept a firm grip on my arm until the merchant saw us.

He looked like a fragile man, with tiny glasses upon a large, pointed nose. His eyes were a scary, beady black and his eyebrows were bushy and gray, like his hair. He gave me a creepy smile. "A pretty little witch, aren't you?" I gulped. I didn't like how he spoke. The merchant looked at Dan. "It'll be a matter of days. I can sell her easily. The profit will be 60-40, deal?"

"No way! I brought her, 50-50!"

"Yes, but without me, you can't get a single copper coin!" he hissed through his crooked, yellowed teeth.

Dan scrunched up his face and then nodded. "Fine… deal."

They shook hands and the merchant stood up. "I have a very special person in mind for you, little lady. One of the knights that come around here said something about the king being a little…" he sighed mockingly. "…sad. Let us cheer him up, no?"

I bit the bottom of my lip and played with the hem of my peasant dress that Jamie had stolen. He smiled creepily again. "Let us go."

He hobbled over to me and grabbed my arm with one of his bony, skintight hands. For an older man, he had a lot of strength and he pulled me with ease. I was dragged back out into the dirty, cold streets. He limped to a well-dressed man and called him. "Sarius! I have a little present for the king, right here!"

The so-called Sarius smiled warmly (which made me feel better). He looked me over. "What's the catch, old man?"

The merchant smiled his disturbing smile again. "This is no ordinary witch. This… is a song bird. The price for such a voice…" he let the knight answer back.

"I will let the king decide whether to take or dismiss such a present. Come with me." he waved his hand, beckoning him and me to follow.

I turned and saw Dan, Kurt, and Jamie follow silently behind. I felt my heart begin to thud. I didn't want to go even farther in this world, I wanted to go home, back in Mineral Town…

The knight brought us to a gate that… led to the castle door. It opened with a small creak and we went in. I gasped at the castle walls. They were a dark, almost black color. Ivy was nowhere to be seen, like it didn't even want to touch such putrid, dark walls. I began to shiver again, but the merchant just squeezed my arm tighter and dug his filthy nails into my skin. I cringed and stopped shivering.

The knight nodded to the two guards and they opened the huge, wooden doors, showing me the inside. I felt my stomach turn. It was dark, too. I hated the dark… hated it. No matter how old I grew and how mature I became, I always feared darkness. I went in, the merchant dragging me along.

We came into a room, columns aligned at the sides of the gigantic area. In the front of the room were two thrones, and one was occupied. The man sitting in the throne looked pensive. His dark green eyes were glazed over and he stared out to his side, looking slightly bored. I felt pity for this man, he looked… imprisoned.

The man turned his head and looked at the knight, the merchant, and me. His face bore lines and creases, probably from frowning like he was now. His hair was a mousy gray and spotted with his youthful dark patches of hair. When his eyes rested on me, he spoke. "What have you brought me?"

The knight spoke in a loud, but hesitant voice, as if afraid to say something wrong. "Your lordship, I have brought you what a merchant has called… a present."

The man nodded slowly, like in pain to do so. "And what would such a present be?" He looked at me thoughtfully.

The merchant bowed low. "A song bird, your gratefulness…"

The king's heavy eyebrows rose slightly. "Interesting…" He picked up his pale hand and waved it, beckoning me forward. The merchant pushed me forward, making me clumsily step out of line. I gulped and walked forward, keeping my head down at the floor.

When I came just before the steps of the throne, the king spoke again. "Be polite, song bird, speak."

I gulped again. "Y-Y-Yes, your wonderfulness…" I managed to stutter.

He smiled slightly. "You do have a beautiful voice, song bird. Now, sing."

I nodded and took a deep breath, and sang.

_Alas, my love, you do me wrong,  
To cast me off discourteously.  
For I have loved you well and long,  
Delighting in your company._

Greensleeves was all my joy  
Greensleeves was my delight,  
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,  
And who but my lady greensleeves.

The king held his hand up, stopping me. I thought he might have been angry, but when I looked at him, he was smiling. He shook his head and continued to smile. "Dear lady, that was beautiful. You are quite accepted as my gift, if anything, you shall be treated as a guest."

I smiled. The merchant hobbled next to me. "And my payment, your highness?"

"Yes, yes, quite. Knight!" Sarius looked up. "Give him some gold, will you? I must speak with this song bird of ours." There was a joke behind this tone of voice. I didn't trust his last statement. They would be unpaid for my songs.

The merchant limped out with the knight and I was left alone with the king. I turned to the king. "May I speak your highness?"

"Nothing would bring me pleasure." He answered, still smiling. His once pale skin seemed to have a pink glow now.

I smiled. "Thank you, I have not lived in the kingdom… I have, err, been taken from my homeland and was brought here and sold to you. What is your name, great king?"

His brows furrowed. "I am King Rion, lord of the Castle of the Night."

I nodded, scared of how serious he got. He took notice and let his face soften. "You get easily scared, do you song bird?" I bit my bottom lip and he laughed. "No need to be afraid of me, I will bring you no harm! But, I do wish to call you something other that song bird; I grow weary of such a name. It's too long to call for you and it's too common among the peasants, you are now owned by royalty. You need a royal name as such. What is your name, witch?"

I decided it was best if he didn't know my true name. "I-I have no name, master."

"Sad, sad… we shall give you one then." he pondered a moment. "…hmmm… maybe… no… ah, yes! How about…Dove?"

"Dove, your greatness?"

"Yes, Dove, it suits you quite well, I think. So, your name shall be Dove."

I smiled. "Dove is a beautiful name!"

"Yes it is…" he said, pleased with himself. He went back into thought for a few moments, and then looked at me with sad eyes. "My son… the heir to the throne… he is not well. He stays in his chambers most of the time and does no hunting or riding… will you sing to him? The song you sang me?"

I held back a sigh. "Y-Y-Yes, I will your gracefulness."

"Excellent!" His eyes sparkled again. He clapped his hands and servants came in the room and bowed low to the king. "Bring Dove to the princes chambers, she shall sing to him."

They nodded and one came to me and helped me to the hallway. We walked in silence down the stone hall, only our footsteps being heard. I watched my bare feet as we walked and at the others' nice, fine leather shoes. I felt so out of place here in this world.

Finally, we came to a beautifully built door and they knocked. A harsh voice answered from behind it. "What is it?"

"A present from your father, Prince Gianni!"

"…Fine, come in." he said rudely.

I was about to turn around and run, but I went in, just by instinct. When I entered, it was a wonderfully furnished room. Its walls were covered in amazing wallpapers and the bed was fabricated in gorgeous spreads. The windows… there were none. I looked over and saw the prince sitting in a chair, his eyes closed. He had light, blonde hair, which I guessed came from his mother. When he opened his eyes, I almost gasped. They were exactly like his father's, but harsher; more cold and dark.

He gave me a sneer and yelled at the servants. "What is this?! A mockery?! You have brought me a peasant before my eyes! Presents are to be good things, not filthy creatures out from the streets!"

I winced and looked down. "I'm sorry for my appearance, your highness…"

He looked at me and scowled. "Get her out of my sight."

"B-But Prince Gianni! She is a song-"

"A what?" the prince asked, interrupting the servant, being impatient.

"She is a song bird, your highness…" they finished.

He looked at me, but I couldn't tell his feelings. I looked at the ground, avoiding his green eyes.

"Sing and prove yourself." he stated plainly. I brought my head up, but closed my eyes. I started where I left off with King Rion.

_Your vows you've broken, like my heart,  
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?  
Now I remain in a world apart  
But my heart remains in captivity._

_Greensleeves was all my joy  
Greensleeves was my delight,  
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,  
And who but my lady greensleeves._

I open my eyes and finished after the chorus. He had gotten up and started to circle me, like I was some prey. I thought he was going to yell at me, but he spoke softly. "You may leave now, servants."

They all left me there alone with him and I felt… scared. He studied me carefully and I just stood still, almost not breathing. He finally spoke to me, he still had his soft voice, but it seemed false, like he never spoke this way and didn't want to.

"Who are you, song bird?"

"I-I-I am D-Dove, so your father has c-c-called me…" I stammered back.

He nodded and stopped in front of my face. He looked directly in my eyes, which made me take a step back. He stepped forward. I gulped. _This was not good…_

He smiled as my face began to show obvious fear. "Are you afraid of me, Dove? Be honest…"

"…yes, your highness…"

His smile disappeared; he had not expected that. "I see…" he said as he mused it over.

As he turned away from me, I took a few steps toward the door, but he turned around and moved in my way. "What's this? Is the little Dove trying to fly out?"

I shook my head furiously, although it was a lie. He smiled. "Come now, little Dove, don't be so scared of me. I won't hurt you…"

It was a bold-faced lie, I could tell. I swerved around the prince and sprinted to the door. I opened it with ease and ran down the hall, the prince yelling at me. "GET BACK HERE! I ORDER YOU!"

I turned back to see if he was chasing me, but I collided with someone whom made me hit the floor with a **thud**.

I looked up and saw another well dressed man in front of me. He looked as if the impact was nothing. He looked down at me and then the prince who was coming down the hall. He was still yelling. "Filthy song-bird! How dare you run away!"

I bit my lip and closed my eyes, ready for a kick to my face. But, it didn't come. "Gianni! Don't hurt a lady!"

I opened one eye to see that the new man had held Prince Gianni back. The man looked down at me as he settled the prince down. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, practically numb. He held out a hand and I took it. He pulled me up so hard, I almost fell back down. He laughed. "There, much better. Now, what happened, brother?"

I opened my eyes wide. _I ran into a PRINCE! _Gianni scowled at me. "She ran away from me."

The other prince put a hand on my shoulder. "I think she is just a little scared, being in the castle and all. I will bring her to the kitchen to get her something to eat, she needs it!"

Gianni nodded, but still stared at me. "Fine…" He turned away and walked briskly back to his room. The other prince looked at me with concern.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

I shook my head. "N-No… thank you…"

He nodded. "Of course, my father is pressing too many women on my brother lately. He needs to get married soon, my father getting older by the day now…"

I bit my lower lip and nodded. "I can understand… I guess…"

He laughed. "Come, let's take you to the kitchen, you do look a little thin." I smiled. "I want to get to know you better."

I followed him to the kitchen, wondering how long I would be in this world; if I would ever see my family or friends again. Or Cliff?

* * *

**Oh... so sad...**


	34. A Night in Leslie's Hut

**Chapter 34: A Night in Leslie's Hut**

When I opened my eyes, hills were spread out before me and small houses were seen. I looked next to me and saw that the others were there too. Shawn closed the spell book and put it in a bag that she had made.

A cold wind blew through us and forced us to shiver. Kai's lips turned a slight blue, him not being used to such cold weather. Shawn rubbed her arms as she explained to us about where we were. "Over there! There it is! The Castle of Night! It had the most powerful army in this country. According to magical historians, the castle was supposed to be the only one that had heard of magic, witches, and wizards. But, once the 1450s came around, they just disappeared! Some think that secret crucibles had been made and wiped them all out of the castles' perimeter…"

Ethica gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh, no! Please don't tell me…"

"What? What's wrong?" Kai asked.

"A crucible is when people burn a person when they think they are a witch…" Gray said, shaking his head.

"They actually did that?" Kai asked, his nose scrunching up. Sage nodded with a look of disgust.

"Yeah, it was horrible."

"What time is it? Like, what year?" I asked.

Shawn opened the book to the page that she had found the Time Traveling Spell. "It says that it's about 1447…" I felt my mouth go dry. _What if they tried to burn her? _Shawn laughed.

"They might actually try to burn Eve!" All the girls and Gray began to laugh.

My jaw dropped. _I thought that they were her family! _Sage saw my and Kai's expression and patted our shoulders. "No one can burn Eve, trust me with this one guys."

I blinked a few times and finally trusted her. But, I was still cautious. I started walking away from the group, looking out at the land. It was covered with plowed fields and farmland. The castle wasn't far away, about a few hours walk. Shawn popped up next to me and smiled. "We'll be there in no time, Cliff! We'll find Eve, don't worry."

I smiled at her. "Thanks Shawn."

She nodded and turned to yell at the others. "Let's get a move on people! We only have so much time in the day!"

They all ran over and we started our journey to the Castle of Night.

* * *

_Journeying takes a long time… _My teeth were close to chattering as darkness swept over the farmland. Shawn, Sage, and Ethica were rubbing their arms, trying to warm their skin under the thin fabric. Kai… you had to feel sorry for him. His lips had turned almost entirely blue and he was shivering uncontrollably. Finally, Gray sighed. "We have to stop for the night, it's too cold."

Shawn nodded. "Y-Yeah, let's see if t-there's a house that we can stay a-at…"

I jogged to a small house with a thatched roof and knocked on the wooden door. When it opened, a rather young woman stood there. Her hair was short and a light brown. She smiled. "Good evenin' there."

"Hello, my friends and I need a place to stay for the night. Could we stay here at your house? We won't bother you…" I asked. She pursed her lips, thinking it over, but then gave me a smile.

"Sure, come'n in." I turned and waved the others over. They all rushed over and followed the woman in.

It was a cottage-like house, consisting of only two rooms. There was a small fireplace that held a few logs and embers. The woman gave us a sad smile. "I'm afraid you'll have to sleep on the floor, we have no more hay for beds, only for them animals in the back." The woman's eyes looked over the girls, eyeing their clothes.

Shawn noticed. "Oh! Our father's a merchant! But… we missed our carriage! And… he, uh…"

"He was in his way to find our other lost sister and…" Ethica picked up and then drifted off.

"We, um, need to know if you've seen three men with a woman, about this high and has red hair!" Sage said, showing the woman Eve's height. The woman nodded.

"Yes'm, I saw them pass by earlier this morn. They be lookin' for a merchant, to sell 'er. But, she didn't wear them fancy clothes that yous wearin'…" She said eyeing their clothes again.

"Oh, they probably made her change to hide her, uh, identity!"

The woman nodded slowly. "Mhmmm… Alrighty then… if'n you say so."

"May we get changed, ma'am?" Sage asked.

She smiled. "Of course you can, my name's Leslie, loves."

The girls went to the other room and Gray, Kai, and I sat on the floor next to the fire. Kai sighed. "Unbelievable, huh?" We looked up at him. "I thought I was going to have a pretty exciting life, ya know? Traveling… Ha! That seems pretty boring compared to…" He trailed off and looked up to where the girls were. Gray and I nodded.

Kai laughed. "Yeah… nothing's going to be normal anymore…"

"It was normal before?" Gray smirked; we laughed. Kai continued.

"Who knew it? One minute, we're in Mineral Town, listening in on their sleepovers and going to the beach and the bar… and now…" He laughed again. "We're in the Middle Ages searching for a witch!"

I had to smile. _It did sound ridiculous once you say it… _Gray nodded. "I remember back when I lived in Flower Bud…" he chuckled. "Every day was a different story, let me tall ya…"

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Leslie dried her hands with her apron and opened it; two men in armor stood there. We listened in to their words.

"By order of the king, every last citizen of the Castle of Night will attend a celebration held in the castle by the prince, Prince Gianni. You will arrive at the castle by dusk 'morrow, dressed properly. Is that understood?" The taller of the two asked. She nodded, seeming fearful of the knights. "Good."

They turned and left without another word. Leslie closed the door gently and leaned her back against it, looking confused. "That be strange…"

"Why, ma'am?" Ethica asked, coming out of the room, dressed in peasant clothes. Shawn and Sage followed behind.

Leslie put her index finger to her lip, in thought. "Prince Gianni hates the peasant folk… Why would he ask for 'em to come to the castle?"

Shawn blinked a few times. "That is strange…"

Leslie shook her head. "It's probably just another way to find him a bride… His highness just can't be pleased." She sighed. "Well, let's hope that he finds a misses 'morrow…"

She walked into the next room. "Good night, loves." She said, going to sleep herself.

We all murmured a 'good night' and laid on the cold dirt that they called the ground. After about an hour, all the others had fallen asleep. I listened to their slow breathing. No sleep seemed to come to me. I flipped over, still worried about Eve.

_What if Dan already sold her? What if we can't find her? What if… the crucibles already started? _I shook my head. _We _will _find her and we _won't _let her get scorched alive… WAIT, THAT DIDN'T COME OUT RIGHT!!!_

I sighed and rolled over again. _I need to get some sleep for tomorrow. I need to be awake…_

To my surprise, I heard a sniffle. I flipped over once more and closed my eyes just enough for me to see my surroundings. When I looked over the sleeping bodies of my friends, I finally found one whose eyes were open; Ethica's.

Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she bit it. I sat upright. "Are you okay?"

Ethica looked up at me and sat up, too. "Yeah… I j-just…" She rubbed one of her eyes. "I miss Eve… I really hope that she's okay…"

I looked down at the floor. "M-Me too…"

Ethica looked at me. "I shouldn't even be crying; she may be one of my best friends but…" I looked up. "Well, you on the other hand…" she started to giggle.

I felt my face burn. "Uhh…"

She gave me a smile. "Might as well tell me now, Cliff."

"W-What do you m-mean?!" I asked in a hushed yell.

"When did you finally tell yourself that you…" She made a heart out of her hands. "_Loved _Eve?"

My face got even hotter. "I, um, you, uh, well… not, um, err…"

She giggled. "From the start?"

"Uh-"

"Yup, from the start." She saw my flustered expression and smiled. "It was kinda obvious, Cliff. You probably didn't realize it –and I'm sure Eve didn't either- but you practically drooled over her!"

That was it. I lost it. My face must've turned a deep crimson, my palms sweat like crazy, and I felt my throat go dry. _Just like those awkward teen years, right Cliffy? _"I-I-I-I-I…" I stuttered.

She giggled, holding back a full-on laugh. But then she sighed. "Tell her, ya know? She can't always wait like this." She looked at the sleeping Kai. One hand was behind his head and the other folded over his chest. His snoring was only… mildly loud. "When Kai kept complimenting me, back at Flower Bud –he had stopped there for some odd reason- I just thought he was, well, a womanizer…

"Turns out he's one of the sweetest guys I know…" She smiled at him.

I nodded and sighed. "… She told me that she loved me…"

Ethica's face had changed dramatically. Her mouth now hung open, her eyes bulging out of her face, and her tone had changed too. "_What?!_"

I winced and fell back. "S-S-She just-"

Ethica grabbed my shoulders and shook me roughly. _Damn, she's got a grip! _"Tell me that you said it back!!!!"

I thought back and winced again. I didn't. _Whoop-dee-doo! Congratulations, Cliffy! You just absolutely, utterly, completely destroyed any chance of a relationship with Eve! Now that you've done that, what's next? Taking toys from orphans and shredding them with a wood-chipper in front of their faces?_

Ethica noticed my wince and gave me a bat on the head. "Ow!"

"Serves you right! How couldn't you say it back?!" I managed to get out of her grip.

My face burned. "How the hell was I supposed to know?! I'm new to this…" I said, folding my arms across my chest.

Ethica put a death grip back on my shoulders, but used one hand to give me a slap on my cheek. _Ow…_

"New?! What are you talking about?! What did I just say earlier? You _drooled _over Eve! How could you NOT tell her that you liked her back?!"

"I don't know! I'm bad at this! I get that! But you shaking me senseless is not helping!" She let go and I fell back again.

"Sorry…"

I felt my cheek; it burned a little after that slap… "Listen…" I said quietly. Ethica nodded. "I-I… I wasn't good at talking to girls… I-I'd stammer, say the wrong this, or just plain mess up!" She nodded again. "Eve… she got me out of that. I could finally talk to someone, let alone a girl, about anything."

Ethica nodded. "That's Eve alright…"

"Yeah, but… I didn't want to mess that up…" I looked down. "I really liked Eve, but if I screwed that up, I'd never forgive myself…"

"Well, to be totally honest Cliff…" I looked up at her. "I think that's the same way she felt about you…"

My face warmed. "R-Really?"

She nodded and smiled. "Oh, you should have seen her! Whenever we mentioned your name, she probably couldn't have even said her name without messing up a million times!"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "When... She said that she l-loved me, I really… thought that she loved me like, you know, a… brother. Believe me, I-I flipped out. I-I… liked it when she said that." Ethica nodded and listened again. "But… I didn't know if she would really like me… like I like her."

Ethica smiled at me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, it'll all work out; I promise." She looked around and then gave me a smile. "How about we get to sleep? We need all the rest we can."

"Yeah, and Ethica?" She looked at me. "Thanks, I owe you."

She smirked. "Then tell Kai that he needs to finally stop making out with me and buy me a nice, romantic dinner."

I laughed. "Will do, Ethica, will do."

* * *

**Seriously Kai... Can't even take a girl out to dinner? Sad...**


	35. Running Away

**Chapter 35: Running Away**

My eyes opened slowly, and then I sat upright quickly –making me a little dizzy-. I looked around and saw that the others hadn't woken up yet. I reached over and gave Shawn a slight push to wake her up.

"H-Huh?...uhgh…what?" She groggily asked as one of her eyes fluttered open.

"It's morning." I said. She yawn and sat upright as she stretched.

"Mmmm… Mornin'!" She said, finally awake and cheerful again.

I looked over to see Gray and Ethica begin to stir. Ethica gave a tiny yawn and Gray wiped some drool from his face. Ethica saw us awake and moaned.

"What time is it?" She groaned. Shawn looked out the window.

"I'd say maybe 10 in the morning…"

Ethica nodded and turned to wake Kai and Sage up. She nudged Kai first. "C'mon, we got to get up…"

"Five more minutes mommy…" Kai said. Ethica and Shawn giggled.

Ethica put her hand out to wake up Sage, but she interrupted her. "Wake me up and I'll rip your arm off and feed it to wolverines."

Ethica gave a yelp and ran behind Shawn. "She doesn't joke about these things." Shawn explained. Gray's brow furrowed and he gave her a kick in the back.

"Get up, you lazy-"

"YEEEE!!!!" Sage pounced on Gray and began to try and claw his face.

"AGH!!! GET HER OFF! GET HER OFF!" Gray screamed. Shawn and Ethica ran over to the hissing Sage and ripped her off of Gray's back.

I blinked a few times. "… … … …What just happened?"

"She was about to tear my face off, that was what she was doing!" Gray yelled. Leslie came running in.

"What happened? Is everyone okay?" We nodded and Shawn explained… no, she lied.

"Oh, Sage here was just having a nightmare, that's all!" She told her, laughing –unconvincingly-. Leslie nodded slowly, just barely buying it.

"All… right… Well, you better be ready for tonight." She said, a smile overcoming her face.

"What do you mean? Are we actually supposed to go to that… thing tonight?" I asked.

She nodded. "Of course! It's the prince's orders, love, everyone goes." We moaned and she gave us a scolding look. "Now, now, loves; this is the best for us! If the prince decrees such a thing, then it should and will be good for us!"

Shawn nodded. "Yes, m'lady."

"Good! Now, get yee-selves a movin'! You need to be dressed and ready to go by dusk, so get goin'!" She shooed the girls into the other room. She turned to us guys. "Sorry, but the misses here be needin' some help fixin' up and tidin' themselves. Yous get 'a ready too, ya hear? We needn't be-a late!"

She closed the door with a thud and we turned to each other… and then our clothes… and then back to each other. Kai shrugged and grinned. "Ready!"

_… And _we_ had to be ready before dusk… _I looked out to the sun; it was setting. We wasted a whole day waiting for Leslie to be done with the girls when we could've been looking for Eve! I moaned; Kai gave me a look.

"Are you girls done or not?!" Gray yelled.

"SHUT UP!" They screamed –even Leslie-. Gray turned to us and threw his hands in the air, defeated.

Finally, we heard the door open. "Thank goddess…" Gray sighed.

Each of the girls wore the same dresses as before, but now wore a sort of paint on their faces. A… primitive make-up, if you will. Actually, they looked good. But, now's not the time for compliments!

Leslie smiled. "They look so beautiful, don't they?" She giggled. "Oh, you'll be the belles of the ball!"

Ethica and Shawn thanked her, but Sage mumbled it. It was obvious that Sage… would not enjoy this. Shawn turned to Leslie. "You go on ahead of us, alright? We need a few minutes."

Leslie smiled and nodded. "Of course, loves! See you there!" She walked out, giggling to herself.

Ethica sighed. "Goddess, finally! Let's get to business!"

"W-What? Wait, what just happened?" Kai asked.

"We have a way to speak to EVE!" Shawn yelled; they all squealed.

"Here, let's hurry!" Sage ripped open her locket to show a creamy pearl embedded in the center.

"We only have about two minutes to talk to her through our locket, ONLY TWO, so let's pick what we say wisely." Shawn advised.

We all nodded and Sage pressed down on the gem. She said something alien to us humans. She looked at us and explained. "Now you can hear what I'm hearing when Eve talks to me." We nodded and continued to stare at the locket. Finally, to my utter relief, we heard a voice.

"S-S-Sage? Oh, goddess, is that you?" It was Eve; we all screamed.

Sage started talking to her sister. "Oh, thank goddess! Are you okay?"

"…I'm fine, Sage, no need to worry. Where are you? You can't talk to a Pomme without being in the same time period!"

"We're here! In, uh, what ever time you're in!"

"What?! Oh, are you ok- wait… we?"

Gray started talking to Eve, concern in his voice. "Eve? What's going on? Where are you?"

"Gray? Oh, please don't tell me that Apple's there…"

"No, no, she's back at Flower Bud…" Sage told her.

Eve sounded relieved. "Good… good… who's there? I mean, here?"

"Shawn, Ethica, Gray, Kai, Cliff, and I." Sage informed her.

"What?! You dragged Kai and Cliff into this?! Sage…"

"Not like we could drag them out…" Sage muttered.

"Hello, gorgeous…" Kai said, grinning.

"…Yup, that's Kai. Cliff? Are you seriously here?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Eve." I said into the locket. I wanted to say more, but let's just say the others wouldn't appreciate it…

Eve sighed. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry guys…"

"Don't apologize, Eve. It's not your fault…" Ethica soothed. Suddenly, we heard a noise and the girls became frantic.

"Eve! Tell us where you are! Hurry!" Shawn screamed.

"I-I can't! Too little time! Just go to the celebrati-" She was gone.

I gave Sage a look. "What happened? Where's Eve?"

Sage shook her head. "I don't know, Cliff. But, we do know that she is going to the festival, though. We can…find her there."

Gray gave Sage a look. "Are… you okay?"

Sage bit her lip. "Yeah…" she started to giggle. "Ironic, isn't it? After all these years, Eve's been keeping me out of trouble… But, now…" She stopped and sighed. She looked up. "Let's go."

Ethica shot a fist in the air. "Yes! Let's GOOOOO!"

We all ran out of the hut. As the girls complained about their dresses, Gray, Kai, and I sprinted ahead. We were all laughing.

We finally got out of breath and stopped. Shawn gasped and found her voice. "This is ridiculous! We can't run to the castle! It's too far away!"

"What else could we use?" Ethica asked. Sage's face lit up and then became a full-on evil smirk.

"We ride." she said simply.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Gray said, shaking his head to Sage's untold idea.

"Oh, c'mon! We can ride on broom most of the way, and then we can get off and walk!" Gray shook his head again to Sage's plan. "What are ya? Chicken?"

She began to 'buk-buk-bukcaw!' at him and the other girls joined in. Kai and I laughed as Gray's face went red.

"Who ya callin' a chicken, ya kitten!" While the joke was obviously not funny to me or Kai, Sage fumed.

"WHAT?!"

Sage's eyes turned colors; they went from a light grey-green to a piercing jade… almost neon, like cats. Shawn grabbed Sage and held her back. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!"

Her eyes somehow went back to normal. She gave a huff and then whistled. Just like before when Eve did it, brooms appeared in front of us. Kai grabbed a broom. "So you do ride brooms!"

Ethica nodded. "Now, hold on tight!" She jumped on one and sped off, with Shawn at her heels. Kai laughed and flew off on a broom, not quite as graceful… but, good enough. Sage sat on a broom and gave Gray a look.

"Hurry up." She said plainly and then she followed the others.

Gray sighed and grabbed one of the two last brooms. I hopped onto the other and started to fly off, but stopped and waited for Gray. "You okay?" I asked.

He looked up. "Yeah… I'm fine. Question is, are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'll be fine as soon as we get Eve and everyone home and out of here."

He nodded and smirked. "Let's go."

He finally got onto the broom and he started to fly… not as well as he had hoped though. His eyes opened wide as the broom went a little… faster than expected. I raced after him and soon we had caught up with the rest of them.

After a few mere minutes, we finally found a good spot to land; right next to the castle walls. Once we landed, Sage snapped her fingers, making the brooms disappear. Shawn smiled. "Only one more thing to do… sorry guys, but we need to pair up to get in. We already know that Kai and Ethica are going together" Shawn giggled as the pair smiled at each other. "I'm going to be with Cliff because _my _boyfriend might get jealous and Cliff is technically taken…"

Gray and Sage went pink simultaneously. "NO!" They both yelled.

"Too bad… you'll never get in…" Ethica said wrapping her arm through Kai's.

Gray and Sage looked at each other and –with disgust- Sage put her arm through Gray's. "For Eve…" they both said emotionlessly.

I stifled back laughter as did Kai. Gray and Sage shot us dirty looks as we walked around the corner of the castle walls. I stared at the walls; they were as black as pitch.

A strange feeling went through me; fear. _What if we didn't find her? With all those people? With the huge castle? It certainly is large enough to hide her from us… _Sage noticed my uneasiness and spoke quietly. "We **will **find her, Cliff. We won't leave until we do."

I nodded, and then felt… sympathy for Gray and Sage. I hadn't once thought about how worried they'd have been. Goddess, that's Sage's blood sister and Gray's 'sister'! I looked closer at their faces. Gray's face could be seen as calm, but more carefully, you could finally see how worried he was. Sage the same way…

I gulped and continued to walk alongside Shawn and the towering shadow-like walls of the castle. Finally, we came to the door; four knights guarded it. Looking directly ahead, we passed them. But, even though I didn't look at them, a mental shiver coursed through me.

Inside was no better than the walls outside. It was still quite dark, only a few torches were lit. Musicians played near a throne upon which must have been the king. Next to him, was a young woman –about only in her late twenties- which I presumed was the queen by her lavish clothing.

I looked around the room as Shawn took her arm back to her side.

"Alright, we'll split up. Just… go look, okay? No plan, just go." Shawn said quickly before running off, holding up part of her dress to hurry away. The others did the same, as did I.

The room was so dim I could only see the people in front of me. If anything, this would be the challenge to finding Eve tonight…

I passed couple after couple, person after person, all dressed in silks and furs. But still, I saw no flash of red hair or shimmer of Eve's blue eyes. I sighed as I stared at the thrones. The king was smiling at his young wife and she smiled back.

* * *

It was practically midnight, or actually, a little before. But, that really doesn't matter right now… We still hadn't found her. I leaned against one of the tapestry covered walls and closed my eyes. _It's hopeless… she's gone… she might not even be here right now. She might be lost somewhere or even someTIME… It's over Cliff…_

I bit my lip, but I heard someone talk to me. "Hello there." I looked up to see a woman about my age. Her dark hair was pulled back into a messy, curly bun leaving a few tresses to fall around her face. "I was wondering what your name was…"

"Why?" I asked. _I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone… too much on my mind._

_  
_"Oh… just merely wondering…" She walked next to me and smirked. "What are you doing over here all by your lonesome?"

"I have a little too much on my mind…" I said plainly.

She stood in front of me and got close to my face. I felt my face blush. She smiled again. "Let me take a little of your mind then…"

Before I could move away, she pressed her lips to mine. I felt frozen; I couldn't move nor push her away. Finally, after what seemed like hours, I heard a very small gasp. I managed to break away from the other girl (whose name I don't even know!) and face the person who uttered the gasp.

I turned to see a pair of deep blue eyes that weren't sparkling as I once knew. Her red locks were put into a high twist upon her head. Two lonely curls framed her freckled face as her eyes watered. I felt horror and utter happiness at the same time. I could only whisper as I found my voice. "Eve…"

She bit her lip and turned and began to walk away. I ran away from the unknown girl and to Eve. "Eve!"

I grabbed her arms and twisted her around to face me. Her eyes continued to water, but not release tears.

"I get it…" she said meekly with a sigh. "I get it… you don't feel the same way that I feel about you…"

"W-W-What?" I stammered.

"You don't have…" She bit her lip to stop herself from a sob; I could tell. "You don't have to pretend that you like me…"

"Wait… no, Eve that's not-"

"Cliff, stop." She looked at me with hurt eyes. "Y-You don't have to lie…"

"No…No! Stop it Eve!" I felt my hands start to shake. Eve's eyes opened wide. "Y-You don't get it! You don't!"

I breathed heavily. _No… this is going wrong, all wrong… _I closed my eyes, everything was overwhelming me. I felt a tremor in my hands. I thought it was mine until I opened my eyes. Eve was slightly shaking.

"C-C-Cliff… I-it's okay… I'll be f-fine…" She whispered.

I felt my face turn red. "No. No! Stop that! Stop that, Eve!" I closed my eyes again, preventing me from seeing Eve's eyes grow wider. I stood still for a while… hoping that she would just finally listen to me. I thought about what Eve said. _"I get it… you don't feel the same way that I feel about you…" "Cliff, stop. Y-You don't have to lie…"_

I felt rage surge through me. _She can't possibly think… _My eyes tightened and continued to until I heard a small cry out of pain. My eyes opened wide as I stared at Eve. Her eyes had closed and her body was shaking. I looked at my hands; they were constricting her arms so tight that a lining of white was visible around my fingers on her limb.

I took my hands away quickly, staring at where my hands had crushed her arms. In their place, was a deep red mark… almost purple. My face was twisted with terror. "E-Eve… I-I didn't…I mean, I w-wouldn't…"

She backed away from me, her eyes finally letting some tears pour down her cheeks. Her hands went gently over her hurt arms, protecting herself… _from me_.

"No, Eve…" I finally got my voice back. "D-Don't… don't push me away…"

I took a step toward her and her eyes filled with something that made me feel hollow; fear. She was… _afraid of me_. I felt a lump form in my throat. "No… d-don't do this to me Eve…"

I took another step forward and she turned to run. I tried to grab her again, but something grabbed _me_. With horror still in my eyes, I watched Eve run away.

I turned to yell at whoever stopped me, but a punch was thrown directly into my face that brought me to keep silent.

* * *

**... ... wow... That's going to hurt in the morning...**


	36. Dove's Missing, Eve's Found

**Chapter 36: Dove's Missing, Eve's Found**

I looked up and blood rushed to my face again. _No wonder… _Dan looked down at me with rage twisting his face. He hissed through his clenched teeth. "I thought…I said… DON'T TOUCH HER."

I stood up from where I fell. "What makes you think that you can control her?"

"She's MINE." He yelled.

"What did you just say?" I felt my blood boiling.

"She's always been mine! I made sure of that… No one came near her when I was around." He stated; my jaw dropped. _That's why… _"That is, until she moved. Then she met _you_."

My head began to spin. Right now, I didn't care about the enraged Dan in front of me or my clueless friends out searching for Eve. I felt my throat burn with anger. _What did I do…?_

Dan brought me back to reality by grabbing my shoulders and pushing me to the floor. "Now look what you've done!" He screamed. "I knew it! I knew you would be nothing but a nuisance in her life!" I felt my face go red. "You've caused her nothing but pain! NOTHING!"

My breath became heavy and irregular. My heart pounded in my chest so hard and fast I thought it would burst. Dan glared at me with pure hatred. My hands tensed into fists as I stared into his glower. I got up and ran to throw a punch, but something strong held me back.

I turned to see Gray had grabbed my shoulder and arm. Dan laughed wickedly. "See that? ...You're pathetic, Cliff." He spat out my name. He continued to frown. "Nothing but hurt… that's all you've given her." I breathed heavily for a few minutes and then it got softer.

I felt… sore. _Nothing but pain and hurt… _My head fell to my chest as I wilted. It was useless… Dan was right. Dan strode over to my limp head and stood still for a few minutes. You couldn't hear a thing in the vast room; everyone's attention was on us.

Dan broke the horrendous silence. "Give her up. You're nothing to her anymore. Let. Her. Go." He said the last part clearly and with venom.

I didn't look up. Like I said before… useless. Dan's frown deepened. But a voice broke the silence again. "ENOUGH!" We all looked up to see the king had stood up. His face was covered in frustration. "COME HERE!"

Gray helped me regain my posture and we all walked over to the king.

As we walked before him, he shouted to the guards. "Take the guests to the other ball room. We have to discuss something here…"

The guards nodded and began to remove the guests from the room. Once it was empty, the king spoke to his queen. "Where is Dove? I thought I saw her-"

"She's… not well my husband…" The queen's young face drooped slightly.

"Would you send a servant for her?"

"Yes, my husband, may I speak to her?"

The king nodded. "Of course, anything for our Dove."

The queen got up, gave a kiss to her husband, and walked out of the enormous room. The king directed his attention to us. "I will not have this." He boomed.

I looked around for the others; Shawn, Sage, Ethica, or Kai… but no such luck. It was just Gray, Dan, and me. The king looked at me.

"What is this about? If you do not tell me, I will cast you out of here!"

"… " I closed my eyes. "… Eve…" I said plainly.

"Eve? Who is this Eve?" He asked with irritation.

"My sister, your highness." Gray told him.

"Ah, yes. That's better… I-" The king was interrupted by the queen running in.

"Your highness!" She cried.

The king looked at his wife with worry. "What is it my dear?"

She bit her lip. "We cannot find Dove! We've looked everywhere! She's gone…"

The king's brows furrowed. "What? She is royal property! She cannot leave!"

The queen came to her husband's side. "I-I…I'm worried about her, darling…"

His face softened. "Yes… yes, I too. Search for her, get the knights and search for her, at any cost. We will find our Dove."

She nodded and scurried off again. He looked at us. "You are to leave. Now. We have an issue to deal with, and yours is not important. Now leave."

"What?!" Dan screamed.

The king stood up from his throne. "You dare to oppose me?!"

Dan slightly paled. "N-No…"

"Good!" he boomed. "NOW LEAVE!"

We turned and ran. Instead of heading to the other room like Gray and Dan did, I ran out of the castle, out of the gate, out of the black walls… I ran as fast as I could and as far as I could with every breath that it would take me.

_What have I done…? I've hurt her in every way possible… Why did I? Why did I hurt her? I could've told her… how much I loved her. She told me, so why didn't I tell her back? I might never see her again… she'll never know…_

Sweat dripping off of my face, I sat down to lean against a small farm house. Some small children scattered the streets, homeless, searching for food and shelter. I let my head go limp again; I was too tired.

A child let out a whimper as an extremely cold wind blew by. I closed my eyes tightly, but a voice opened them back up. "Here… take this…"

My head popped up to see a child take a woolen cloak from someone. Eve's flushed, freckled cheeks were tear-stained. Her hair was still up in the high twist, but it was slightly messier from what I guessed was… running.

I looked at the dress she was wearing. It was a deep blue with many laces making her curves bolder. It was simple… but it looked beautiful in her. I stood up and walked toward her slowly, careful not to make her run away again.

I felt my foot step onto a twig and her head snapped in my direction. Her face went from soothing to fear in a matter of seconds. Before she could turn to run, I grabbed her arm, careful to not grab it where I…

She shook as I pulled her to me. I let my voice whisper. "Please… don't me afraid of me Eve…" She didn't speak, but continued to shiver. I sighed and got a little angry. "Don't just stay silent! Say something!"

She shrunk in my arms. I calmed down and spoke quietly again. "I-I'm…" I sighed and yet my voice still shook. "I-I'm sorry, Eve… I-I'm so sorry… I-I didn't mean to… I was…"

I couldn't think because of Eve's silence and fearful gaze. She let her head fall. "No… don't be sorry…" I looked at her with a worried gaze. "Y-You didn't like me like I-"

"No!" My sharp voice caused her to flinch and look up at me. "D-Don't… don't say that." She looked confused.

"W-What? W-Why?" She asked meekly.

"J-Just… don't say that." I sighed. "Y-You just don't know…"

Her face fell back down to her chest limply. I snaked one arm around her waist and the other free hand went to her chin. I picked her head up to look at me, but her eyes remained closed. I spoke so very softly. "Look at me, Eve…"

Her eyes opened slowly, hesitantly, as if she was cautious. I smiled as her blue eyes stared up at me. I stared back, making her feel uncomfortable. "That's better…"

"W-What do you want C-Cliff?"

My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I-I… Just… just tell me… I can't stand it…" She told me. "Why do you do this to me? Every time y-you… yell at me or… oh, I don't know! Y-You always come back a-and apologize, b-but…" She sighed and tears came back to her eyes. I pulled her chin up as she tried to hide her face.

"What?" I demanded, getting frustrated.

"…Y-You always do it again… a-and I d-don't know if…" I got closer to her face as she tried to pull it away. "I-I don't know if you even mean it… I-I don't know if you… want me to be there anymore…"

I took my other hand away from her side and cupped her face with both of them. "Never. Never think that Eve… Y-You just d-don't get it…"

"W-What's there to get, Cliff?" She asked me.

"… "I had nothing to say. I just stared down onto her face. I leaned my forehead against the top of her head. "J-Just… come back to me, Eve… don't ever leave me again…"

She closed her eyes. "Cliff…"

I didn't listen to her plea. I didn't care about that right now. She was here with me, and I wouldn't let her go.

"C-Cliff… stop. P-Please…" Eve's voice shook. I pulled my head away to see tears come back to her eyes. "J-Just stop…" she sobbed.

I looked at her with concern. "B-But…"

"I-It's not fair C-Cliff… I-It's not fair…" I tried to put my hand to her face again, but she swatted it away. "Stop! J-Just stop!"

Tears poured down her cheeks. "Don't do this to me! You know t-that I love you! How can you taunt me like this?!"

"I…" She got out of my grasp, but didn't run away. She put a hand to her face and sobbed.

I put another hand out, but she just moved back. "D-Don't... Touch me..." she managed to gasp.

"Eve… don't…"

"D-Don't what?" She asked me, not angry, but hurt. "I-I've been so nice to y-you… I-I was your friend, goddess! D-Don't t-toy with me!"

"… Don't say that… I-I-"

She looked at me with hurting eyes. "What?" she asked emotionlessly. "What are you going to do Cliff? Beg me to come back to Mineral Town and once I do just break my heart again?" her eyes watered.

"No." I said plainly. She walked around me, trying to head back to the castle, but I grabbed her arms and pressed her against the walls of the farmer's house. She struggled to get out of my grasp, but couldn't.

I kissed her roughly. Her eyes flew open and stared at me with surprise. I continued to kiss her against her effort to run away. I fought it, I admit, after she kissed me as a dare, not to want to kiss her again. That's one battle… I'm glad I lost.

I pulled back and looked at her face. Her eyes had closed and once they opened, she looked at me with total confusion.

Eve tried to sneak out of my arms again, but my grip was too strong. I finally let her go after a few minutes of struggling. She looked at me with shock. Eve began to walk away from me, but I always copied her footsteps.

To her displeasure, she had backed up into a tree and I put my hands against the tree… trapping her. I pressed my lips to hers again, harshly. She tried to fight me off again… but she slowly softened until finally she gave up.

I pulled back again. Her eyes fluttered open and her face blushed. "B-But…"

I smirked at her fluttered expression. "Didn't you like it?"

"I-I uh, no… b-but, um…"

"Then, my darling, what did you think of it?"

"…" she looked away from me. I put one hand softly under her chin.

"I'll let you know now that I most certainly did…" her mouth fell open. I chuckled and used my other hand to let her tresses free from the bun they were held in; her long red hair fell.

We just stood there, motionless, as snow began to fall lightly. It sparkled as it flew into her bright hair. She gave me a look of confusion. "I-I still… I-I…"

"What's there to get, Eve? You should know by now…" She shook her head, making the snow sparkle even more.

I leaned in closer and wrapped my arms tighter around her sides. I laughed softly, and spoke gently.

"I love you, Eve."

* * *

**Awwww! HappyHappyHappyHappy! But, it's not the end juuuuuust yet! They still gotta get out of there!**


	37. Flower Bud, TALLYHO! 2

**Chapter 37: Flower Bud HO! 2**

Her jaw fell. "Y-You… love me?"

"Yes! Yes! A thousand times YES!" I laughed.

Eve's face flushed a slight pink. I swerved a stray hair out of her face and behind her ear. She turned a darker shade of rose. "And yet you still blush when I get a little too close…"

"Sorry…" She said looking away, still getting more pink.

"You need to stop apologizing so much." I said, laughing and smiling.

"…Sorry…" I laughed even louder.

"Stop that!" I put a finger to her lips before she could say another 'sorry'.

She smiled with my finger still on her lips and giggled. "Sorr- …fine."

I laughed again as I took my finger away. She moved away from the tree and wrapped her arms around my neck, a little hesitant at first, but nonetheless. Snow still fluttered around us, and I watched it settle on Eve's hair. She looked away and turned yet another shade of pink. "So…why like me?" she asked.

I cocked my head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why like me? Why not Ann, or-"

"Eve…" She looked up at me with still burning cheeks. "I've always liked you, ever since we met."

She giggled. "I remember… I forgot to put in my contacts!"

"Well, you were going to sleep on the- hey, wait… why did you come to Mineral Town?" I asked, finally curious.

"… My parents wanted me to go out, you know… They wanted me to go farther than just little old Flower Bud Village. They decided on Mineral Town."

I nodded. Her eyes narrowed in concentration and then it went to concern. "What about you?"

"…What?"

"Why were you in Mineral Town? You were in the church all the time as I remember…"

I sighed. "I guess I have to tell you eventually…"

She shook her head. "When you're ready, Cliff. Whenever you're ready."

I smiled. "Thanks."

Suddenly, Eve gasped and put her hand to her locket. "Sage must want to talk to me."

I looked at the locket; it had changed from a gold exterior to a creamy pearl color. I raised my eyebrows. "So that's how you know who's calling?"

She blushed and nodded. I smiled at her flustered expression. _I like her this way… I guess that's why girls used to do that to me! _Eve fumbled with her locket, a little embarrassed to me watching over her with my arms still wrapped around her waist. She opened it up and Sage's voice emerged from the gem rooted into the gold.

"Eve? Are you there? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"I'm fine Sage… just fine." Eve told her calmly.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Everyone screamed together. Shawn spoke next.

"We can't find Cliff anywhere either! He's going to pay for wha-"

"I'm right here, guys." I said smiling.

"Oh. Well, uh, you're still gonna get the crap kicked out of you once the other girls learn about this!" It was Sage.

Kai gave a wolf-whistle. "Hey, whatcha doin' there with Eve?"

Ethica hooted, making Eve blush uncontrollably and I laugh out loud. Ethica spoke up. "Listen guys, stop making out and get over here! We already got Dan in a Paralysis Spell. So, we can go home, drop him off at a bar, knock him out, and when he wakes up, tell him that he got drunk and had some insanely weird, messed up dream!"

The others laughed as did Eve and I. I spoke into the locket. "I'm ready to go home when you are."

Eve smiled and nodded, looking at me as she talked to the others. "I want to go home too; back to Mineral Town."

I smiled at her and she giggled. Ethica spoke up. "What did I tell you?! Stop making out and get over to Leslie's house! We're leaving ASAP!"

I nodded. "We're coming."

"See you!" Eve sang into the locket and then closed it. She looked up at me. "Ready?"

I nodded. "Can we ride?"

She giggled. "Fine…"

She whistled and two brooms appeared in front of us. She grabbed one and started to fly off, but lingered for me. I hopped on one and flew up next to her. We sped off, heading to the others.

As we flew I stared at the sky above us. The moon was a crescent that night, so not much light shone down on us. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful night. Eve's hair whipped around her, letting random snow flurries fall. Snow continued to fall down and whisk around us. I flew next to Eve and gave her a smile; she returned it. _We're going home…_

* * *

When we landed, all the girls ran to Eve and threw their arms around her. They all laughed as the collapsed to the ground. I smirked as they got up and continued to hug each other. A hand clasped my shoulder at the moment and I turned around.

Gray gave me a smirk. "Thanks." he said plainly, but I could tell he really meant it.

I nodded. "No problem."

Shawn ran over to me and threw her arms around my shoulders. "ThankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!"

I laughed as she pulled away. "Shall we? I have the spell book right here…"

"And I have the jack-ass!" Sage said giving the paralyzed Dan a kick in the shin. I smirked at his immobile body as his face was put in a frown.

"Here we go…" Shawn took a deep breath and recited the foreign words. Everything began to dissolve before my eyes, except the others. I felt a slight prick in my fingertips, but ignored it. Colors began to flood over; mostly greens, grays, blacks, and browns.

Rock and dirt was felt beneath my feet. Finally, everything was right. I looked around and grinned. _We were in Flower Bud._

**Home again! Home again! Jiggity Jig! Something something... engh, Idk... Anyways, they're back at Flower Bud. HUZZAH!**

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	38. Fine

**Chapter 38: Fine**

I grinned from ear to ear; everything was amazing. The others were still laughing and Eve still had her hands covering her mouth. I smiled. _That… felt good._

* * *

_Gray helped Kai put the paralyzed Dan under a tree. Ethica place an empty wine bottle in his hands and said a few bewitched words that made him mobile… and he forgot everything. I smiled as Dan's eyes opened up and he yawned, then realizing his surroundings and looking around._

_"Are you okay?" Eve asked innocently._

_Dan blinked a few times and saw the bottle in his hands. Ethica answered for him. "Oh, he's probably just a little drunk! I bet you just went unconscious…"_

_Gray folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk…"_

_Kai copied Gray and ended up getting a slap upside the head by said Gray. Dan rubbed the back of his head as everyone began to leave. Dan looked up and saw Eve._

_"You better head back to town soon, it getting-" She began to advise him._

_She was cut short as he raced over to her and pressed his lips to hers. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him off of her. I spun him around to face me and I let my fist slam into his cheek. He fell to the ground with a __**thud**__**.**_

_I turned and saw the rest of the group; they were frozen in their tracks and stared at the –yet again- unconscious Dan. The whole group burst into laughter as Eve continued to hold her hands in front of her mouth._

_I felt my face turn a bright red. They others walked down the dirt road back to town. Eve went around the still body of Dan and came beside me. She airily laughed and gave me a shake of her head._

_"Nice punch… just don't do that again…" I smirked._

_"Donna taught me."_

_Eve dumped her head into her hands and mumbled. "So that makes it okay?"_

_I grinned. "Just thought you might want to know…"_

_She looked up and smiled. "Let's just go home…"_

_I nodded and wrapped my arm around her waist; making her blush deeply and me laugh aloud._

* * *

As we continued our walk down the road, the night had caught up with us. Small flurries fell silently from the dark hazy sky. The moon shone in between the veils of clouds and beautified the charming forest we walked through. Soon, we escaped the woods and found ourselves going by the farm I had passed days ago with Ben.

Curls of steam blew out of my friends' and my own lips as we breathed in the cold night. Kai rubbed his arms, trying to keep warm in the bitter climate. As Sage shivered slightly, she told us of a place we could stay.

"We can head to our place. Ma and Dad aren't home this season, though; they're at Forget-Me-Not Valley, staying at a relative's. It's one of our smaller houses, so it'll be a tight fit, m'kay?"

We nodded, not caring about how cramped it would be, but how warm. Sage smiled and then continued to shudder from the blow of a wintry wind. We started a jog as Eve and Sage took the lead, searching through the darkness for their old home. Shortly, they had found it.

It was a rancher; a small one story house. It was the farm I had seen across from the Blue Sky ranch. I stared at the place where pumpkins had once thrived, but were now torn down due to the upcoming freezing season. Eve noticed me looking at the plantation (sort of) and smiled.

"Yeah, this is our parents' plantation. We only use this house in case there's a storm coming and we can't get back to our main house in time."

My eyebrows rose and my jaw dropped. "You have _two _houses?!"

She pursed her lips and shook her head. "Three… actually…"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Wow… who knew?"

"Well, we'll tell you more some other time if you like, but right now, it's getting colder by the minute so let's get inside."

I nodded and followed her into the small cottage; it was actually pretty big compared to the outside. I walked around, spotting a bed and a few cots being pulled out of a closet by Shawn and Sage. The TV was turned on and what videos were to be watched was argued over by Kai and Gray. Ethica and Eve were heading to the kitchen to make a few snacks… I just stood there. I looked around, feeling utterly, and completely satisfied.

This was my family now. I smiled at the word that had once brought pain to me. They were my _family_. Eve came over to me and handed me a blanket.

"You okay?" She asked with the same happiness as before. I liked seeing a smile sweep over her face.

I smiled and took another look around before answering. "Yes… yes I am.

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**Ohhhh... Family Fluff! Yay! Fluff is most awesome!**


	39. Going Home

**Chapter 39: Going Home**

When I woke up –to my own time-. I didn't wake up wondering where I was or WHEN I was… wondering what I did the day before. I just opened my eyes and smiled. I sat upright and looked at the others: Ethica had her head against Kai's shoulder as his arm was protectively was around her arms, Sage's head fell against Gray's arm and his head fell to the top of hers (there will probably be screaming later), Shawn snored quietly as her arm drooped from the couches' safety, and Eve breathed slowly with my arm still draped over her shoulders.

I closed my eyes, thinking that more sleep might be good for me, but a knock came to the door. I sighed and nudged Eve gently; her eyes fluttered open. "W-What…?"

"There's someone at the door, I got to get up."

She nodded and got up at the same time as me and we went to the door. The others began to wake up too as the knocking got louder. I opened the door to only get a slap on my forehead. It was Lynn.

The rest of the Flower Bud girls began to give a few slaps and smacks. I heard them giving me grief about my past mistake about two days ago. "How could you do that to Eve?!" "Jerk!"

Eve laughed as they tackled me to the ground. "GETTIM OFF! GETTIM OFF!" I yelled.

Eve continued to laugh and then stopped to start pulling them off of me. To my surprise, she pulled them off with ease. They looked at her with shock. "What are you doing?! He-"

"Everything's fine, girls. No need to worry, everything worked out." She told them. They gave her a distrusting look, unsure of her answer. I got up and shook my head off. She laughed and came next to me and put her arms around my neck. "See? All better!"

They all took another look up and down and then smiled, finally agreeing with us. Lannie nodded. "If you're lying, I would know!"

"Why's that?" I asked.

Before she could answer, we all heard a scream; it was Gray. The next scream came from Sage. "AGHHHHHH!"

"EEEEEEEEEE!"

They both jumped up from where they were sleeping and yelled at the same time. "I FEEL LIKE I NEED A SHOWER!!"

We all laughed as they both looked at each other and turned bright red.

They started to argue directly in front o each others' faces. "You dirty, greasy blacksmith! What do you think you were doin'?!"

"Me?! You were the one _leaning_ on me!"

"Well, you're head fell on top of mine! What does that say, huh, GRAY?!"

They continued to bicker until Ethica sneaked up from behind Gray. She put up her hand and mimicked them fighting for a few seconds and the kicked Gray in the back. This, well, caused him to fall forward into Sage's face…

Their faces were priceless as their lips were crushed together. Everyone went dead silent and then laughter erupted. Gray's face went red as did Sage's. They broke apart. Sage turned away, trying her best to make a fight again. "Y-You! Y-You-Y-You…"

Gray folded the bill of his hat over his face. "U-U-Uh…"

He put it back up in place and put his lips back to Sage's, making the girls squeal and Kai and I hoot. When he parted again, Sage's face was total shock. "B-B-B-But…"

Gray turned red again –going an even deeper shade than his hair- and rubbed the back of his neck. Ethica began to shoo everyone out of the house and out into the chilly morning. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

Kai whined. "But I want to see them make out some more…"

Ethica groaned and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "Better now?" he nodded in a goofy daze. "Good! You owe me a romantic dinner!" He gave her a look. "Ask Cliff! He agrees with me!"

Once we were finally pushed out of the small frame of a door, everyone scattered among the pasture, running around enjoying the morning.

"Cute? Isn't it?" I turned to see Eve walk up next to me. I nodded.

"Yeah, it's really nice."

We stood there, watching them run around and pounce on each other. I smiled as the girls ran over to me and pulled me out with them. They screamed with pleasure as small flurries drifted down from the sky.

They began to run in circles like little children, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. I laughed and did the same. Soon, we heard a dog bark. I turned to see a dog pounce on eve and give her a good licking. "All right! All right! I missed you too, Rosie!"

I stared at the previous dragon. I cocked my head to the side and walked over to Eve, who continued to giggle. "What happened to Rosie…?"

Eve looked up and blushed. "She can shape-shift between a dog and a dragon, the dragon being her true form. We only did that so she could live with us."

"How did you do that?"

"Let's just put that on our weird-magic-stuff-for-later list, okay?"

I smirked and nodded. "Sounds good to me."

I helped her up and Rosie gave a playful bark. She was a half German shepherd- half collie breed. Her tail wagged with excitement and her body trembled with anticipation. Eve laughed. "She wants you to chase her!"

I got down to eye-level with Rosie. "Is that what you want? A race?" Rosie barked and I laughed. "She really does understand people doesn't she?"

Eve nodded. "Yeah! C'mon!" She tried to grab one of Rosie's legs, but Rosie dodged her hand. I tried to pat her snout, but she avoided that, too. Soon, the whole gang was outside and chasing Rosie through the streets. Children came out of their houses dressed in winter coats and joined in.

Eventually, the whole town seemed to be out. We were now a huge crowd running down the cobble-stone streets of Flower Bud chasing the can't-catch-me-I'm-a-freakishly-fast dog. Rosie finally stopped once she heard her name being called.

"Rosie!" Eve and Sage cried as the whole mob was gasping for breath. Rosie turned and trotted to us with, I swear, a triumphant look upon her muzzle.

She jogged back to her owners and was rewarded with a few pats from the townsfolk and some 'good dog!'s from the children. Once the town had settled down and gone back to their warm and cozy homes, we stood there in the town square, wondering where to go from there.

It was obvious that Gray and I had to go back to Mineral Town… but who else would be?

Ethica decided that she would join Kai on his travels and the other girls resolved to stay put in Flower Bud. Eve looked at the girls sadly.

"I have to go home girls… and that's in Mineral Town."

They nodded and gave her a few farewell hugs. But they smiled as Gray, Eve, and I made our way to the dock and they headed back to the house. Shawn let out a witches' cackle and the others did the same.

We gave one last wave as their silhouettes faded into the darkness of the dusk. Gray turned to me and Eve and sighed. "This is it…"

Eve smiled. "We're going home…"

* * *

**They're going home! YAY! YAY! YAY! whew... yay... One more chapter to go!**


	40. A Prayer and the Perfect Day

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Fair ye warned! Italicized print may cause extreme headache, nausea, or indigestion! Keep a can of antacid or Pepto Bismol handy!!

**I'd like to thank Awesome Rapidash, for giving me great advice through those tough first chapters.**

**Of course, I'd like to thank KenowaX, Bubblewing-luvs-anime, and chipmunkluver96 for your wonderful support and reviews that kept me writing! You're all awesome! Without further ado... Welcome to the final chapter of _Take on Mineral Town_!**

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**Chapter 40: A Prayer and the Perfect Day**

_After all this… do I regret helping Eve on that strange, chilly new Spring night? No, of course not. She was a great deal of help to my… recuperation, let's call it. A… change of heart one could say. I took the world after my father and mother's death for granted. I have a life, and I wish to live it._

_I couldn't just waste away in the Church, no, that would be ironic. A Church is a place of rebirth, not death or, well… something to that effect. Nonetheless, I had decided to go on living a life; to be happy out of those walls. Eve showed me that there was life out of there._

_So, when you say that I may have taken the blow of my parents' deaths a little too lightly, you may want to think again. I could have spend months, even years in that Church trying to fulfill what I thought of was my new life; but no. I got up… and got out, choosing a new path._

_Wandering… was that really what I did? Right now, actually, it seems a little foolish. Come to think about it, I really didn't have a new life! I just… wandered. Seems like the appropriate word, don't you think?_

_Now, as I recall, wandering wasn't all… well, sleeping in a train or… finding scraps. It was just going from town to town, from Inn to Inn. Not always the case, but mostly. I guess wandering is just an acquired taste, like coffee. Yes, that fits perfectly, 'like coffee'._

_Do you ever think of those people outside on the streets, who others consider 'homeless'? Well, believe it or not, some homeless people chose to live like that. Now, don't get me wrong, yes, there are some people who have no choice, but let's just talk about those who chose to._

_Sadly, there are those who may be sick in the mind and don't feel well living in a home; makes them feel claustrophobic… Now, that wasn't me, however, I couldn't go on living where I was. Once my father passed on, I left home, not wanting to see my mother and sister so hurt. Unfortunately, when I did return, my mother had passed away also and my sister had run away._

_That's why I wandered… I'd say it was a good reason, right? Anyway, I couldn't stay in one place because the memories and guilt seemed to come chasing back after me. So, I ran. Now, don't go thinking of me as a coward! I did face them, those terrible wrongs I have done. Well, not by myself, of course._

_Gray befriended me, Kai encouraged me, the girls of Flower Bud/ Kardia assisted and cared for me, and Eve… well, she loved me. No matter what I did or said. That just… makes everything better._

_So, as my last few words, I'd like to thank you for listening to me. Thank you for everything you've taken note of._

_With a new path ahead, Thank you Harvest Goddess,_

_Cliff_

* * *

A smile crossed over my lips as I remembered my prayer. I had been leaning on the wood frame of Eve's house as she tugged dead plants out of her soil, readying for the coming winter. She still was oblivious to my presence. I watched her wipe a few beads of sweat off of her forehead, her dotted cheeks rosy and her nose nipped by the chilling wind.

She still continued to work as I strode over to her. She finally looked up with surprise as I wrapped my arms around her. "Afternoon." I laughed at her stunned expression.

"Oh! Cliff, hey! I'm glad you came over! How was work for the day?"

"It was great; I love to work with Duke and Manna."

"That's fantastic. Hey, I got a bunch of apples before the frost will hit them, want to come in and talk to me as I peel them? I'm going to make a pie and some cider afterwards."

I smiled. "Sure, think I should grab Gray and Ann? Maybe they'll want to join us."

She nodded and started to jog to her house. "Okay! Sounds great!"

I grabbed her arm and gave her a quick peck which made her cheeks flame up. I laughed at her flustered-ness and let her go back to her cozy house as I set off to find the two other redheads.

As I walked down the stone streets of Mineral Town and a wind ripped through the cold air just making it even more so, I didn't even shiver once. Nothing could make me cold today, absolutely nothing. Today… was perfect.

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**T-T-T-T-That's all folks! -For now, of course!- Be on the lookout for the SEQUAL! Yes, I said SEQUAL! Yet again, incase you didn't read properly... SEQUAL! SEQUAL! SEQUAL!!! I love you all! Ta-Ta for NOW!**

**With love, choclates, and mega-super hugs,**

**Eve :D**


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